Top Line headed for banner year

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Top Line Business Development Corp., the country’s first and so far only company to go public in 2025, is on track for a potential banner year.

“We’re hoping it can be a banner year because of the 50 stations,” company chairman, president and CEO Eugene Erik Lim told reporters over the weekend.

“It’s really a banner year even in terms of revenue growth… but most likely it can be because of the acquisition,” said Lim, referring to Top Line’s recent purchase of 38 gas stations, a two million-liter depot facility and 15 tanker trucks.

Top Line raised P732.6 million from its listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange in April, providing a much-needed financial muscle to capture a larger share of the Visayas market.

Since going public, the company has rapidly expanded its retail fuel presence through key acquisitions, fueling a strong rise in its stock price.

Top Line’s shares closed at P1.65 apiece yesterday, more than five times its initial public offering (IPO) price of P0.31 per share.

The company now has a market capitalization of over P13.5 billion.

“With the listing right now and with the stock price going up, we’re happy. But again, it also gives us pressure as a company to perform,” Lim said.

Top Line, the first Cebu-based firm to complete an IPO in almost a decade, aims to expand its operations to 50 locations by year-end, exceeding an initial target of 30 stations.

At present, it has four operating stations under the Light Fuels brand, with eight more under various stages of development across Cebu.