First Phil Holdings seeks $30-M loan

First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPHC) is negotiating with a foreign financial institution for another $30-million loan facility to cover the payments of some of its maturing obligations, according to its president and chief operating officer Elpidio Ibanez.

FPHC has just signed a $35-million loan facility from the Asian Infrastructure Mezzanine Capital Fund as part of its ongoing debt repayment program.

Ibanez told reporters after the company’s stockholders meeting the other day that FPHC expects talks with the unidentified foreign financial institution to be completed on or before June 30.

In addition, Ibanez said the company expects to raise another $20 million this year although he did not say how this amount would be generated.

He said FPHC is open to the sale of some of its assets to pay off debts and improve its balance sheet.

FPHC has P800 million in long-term commercial papers maturing this year and early next year — P280 million in November, another P280 million in December and the balance of P240 million in Jan. 2004.

Ibanez said the company is targeting a net income of P3 billion this year or an increase of 53 percent from the P1.958 billion profit reported last year, with the bulk of the projected income coming from the firm’s power generation business.

The company, he said, may pay dividends to its stockholders next year. In the first four months of 2003, FPHC has already posted a net income of P1.1 billion.

FPHC has four power plants: Bauang Private Power plant, which sells to the state-run National Power Corp.; Panay Power plant, which sells to Panay Electric Co.; and Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo plants, which sells to Manila Electric Co.

These four plants would constitute the main sources of revenues and income for First Power Generation Holdings Inc., which is owned by FPHC.