Century Pacific makes strong stock market debut, sees P1.5B 2014 net profit

Screengrab from www.centurypacific.com.ph

MANILA—Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF) made a strong debut on the local stock market on Tuesday as investors cheered the listing of a new Philippine consumer company with strong growth prospects.

CNPF shares rose by 11.94 percent to P15.38 per share in morning trade from the initial public offering price of P13.75 per share.

In a press briefing after the listing ceremony, CNPF president Christopher Po said it was “flattering that the market has responded this way.”

On earnings prospects, Po said the company was “comfortable” that it could hit the higher end of stock market analysts’ P1.1 to P1.5-billion net profit forecast for the company this year.

A potential bottomline level of P1.5 billion translates to a return on equity of about 24 percent for the company.

The offering was oversubscribed by 3.5 times the base offering and about 65-70 percent was taken up by institutional investors as a deliberate strategy to ward off weak hands. Industry sources said among those that had subscribed to the IPO, which targeted only domestic investors, were state-run Government Service Insurance System and Sun Life of Canada.