Calata vows to help SEC on stock probe

MANILA, Philippines–Agriculture product distributor Calata Corp. has vowed to cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission in its ongoing investigation into the unusual trading of its shares after its listing on the stock exchange last May.

In a statement, Calata said it was aware of the investigation by Capital Markets Integrity Corp. (CMIC) that had led to the ongoing SEC probe.

“The company wishes to point out that at no stage has the SEC or CMIC officially contacted the company during the course of its investigations. Actually, it was Calata which wrote to the PSE at the outset and requested for an investigation into the unusual and fluctuating movement of its shares during the particular period that is now the subject of the probe,” the company said.

The firm, which is led by 31-year-old Joseph Calata, said it would fully cooperate with the SEC.

Since selling shares at P7.50 each in May, Calata’s share price surged to as high as P24 shortly after its IPO but has since then pulled back to levels below its IPO price. This was on reports that CMIC had submitted to the SEC its findings presenting a “clear case” of stock price manipulation through dummies.  But the CMIC has yet to pin down the financier of the questionable trades.

In the meantime, Calata’s management said the company remained steadfast “in maintaining profitable business growth and is poised to substantially exceed revenue targets for the first six months of 2012.” It said details of these would be fully disclosed in the company’s second-quarter report, which will be filed very soon.

“More growth is expected with the company’s Monterey Nucleus Hog Breeder Farm in Isabela now being fully operational. Finally, our Argentinian counterparts for corn planting have recently concluded their due diligence and have given us very promising results. They are very excited to start corn planting with Calata soon using their state-of-the-art techniques and equipment,” the company said.

“We will make the appropriate disclosures as soon as everything is in place,” it added.