PCI Leasing plans P100-M STCP float

PCI Leasing and Finance Inc. (PCILF), a publicly-listed finance company without a quasi-banking license, plans to issue P100 million in short-term commercial papers (STCP) to finance relending activities.

PCI Leasing offers a wide range of services such as direct lease, sale and leaseback, commercial and consumer loans, factoring and discounting and personal loans program.

The planned STCP float has been assigned a rating of PRS1 by credit rating agency Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings). The rating is defined as: "Strongest capability for timely payment of debt instrument issue on both interest and principal."

In arriving at the rating, PhilRatings considered PCI Leasing’s strong liquidity position relative to the size of the issue applied for; its revenue and profit-generating capabilities compared to other players in the industry; its sizeable capital base and conservative debt position; and its access to a significant amount of credit facilities, largely resulting from having a very supportive shareholder in Equitable PCI Bank.

Last year, PCI Leasing’s revenues amounted to P576 million while net income was at P307 million, up 53 percent from the previous year’s P201 million.

"While concerns on asset quality and market prospects in the sector continue to persist, it is quite unlikely that any major deterioration in credit quality will affect PCI Leasing’s strong capability to settle an amount of P100 million within a year," Philratings said.

On a selective basis, the company also provides loans to individuals, primarily through its employee personal loans product.

PCI Leasing’s head office is in Pasig City. It has seven branches in Cagayan de Oro, Dagupan, Davao, Iloilo, Imus and San Pablo.

The company reported a gross income of P262.08 million in the first six months of the year, an increase of 4.42 percent from the previous level’s P250.98 million. Interest, discounts and service fees amounted to P255.75 million, up 6.41 percent from P240.34 million a year ago. – Zinnia dela Peña