MacPlas raises capital to P400 M

The Lorenzo-owned Macondray Plastics Inc. will be boosting its capital stock three times to P400 million to cover the grant of a planned 155 percent stock dividend to its stockholders, the company said in a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

MacPlas will increase its authorized capital from P100 million to P400 million with a corresponding number of common shares at P1 par value. This, in effect, will compensate for the 155 percent stock dividend in the aggregate amount of 76.322 million common shares to be declared and issued by the corporation to its stockholders on a record date to be set by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company was listed only last November and led off a series of positive IPOs (initial public offerings) among local stocks at the PSE.

Macondray offered 16.74 million common shares equivalent to a 34 percent stake in the company, for a total consideration of P90.4 million.
At the close of trading yesterday, MacPlas shares had advanced by 30 centavos to P6.70 or a 24 percent gain from its IPO price of P5.40.

The company is controlled by the Lorenzo family, whose biggest interest remains with the Asia-Pacific operations on multinational food processor Del Monte. An affiliate firm, restaurant chain Pancake House Inc., was also listed at the PSE late last year and was also warmly received by the market.

In 1999, MacPlas posted earnings of P21.5 million from the operations of its packaging and distribution business – primarily for agriculture and chemicals – of the other Macondray companies. – Conrado Diaz Jr.