Alsons cops P1.38B more from commercial paper offer

MANILA  -Alcantara-led Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. has raised an additional P1.38 billion from its commercial paper issuance as the company works to build its renewable energy portfolio in Mindanao.

In a stock exchange disclosure on Friday, Alsons said it had listed the commercial papers via the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.

The amount represents the second tranche of a P3-billion commercial paper program. The initial P620 million was listed in December last year.

This is the third commercial paper program that Alsons has undertaken since its first foray in the debt market in 2018.

Commercial papers are issued as a short-term facility that allows companies to raise capital quickly. These are sold to investors looking for short-term investments with low risk.

8 new power facilities

“Consistent with our concern for the environment, we are deliberately moving into renewable energy for our capacity expansion,” said Alsons executive vice president and chief executive Tirso Santillan.

He admitted Alsons was still relying on four fossil fuel-fired baseload plants “for reliability and cost considerations,” but the company aimed to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix to at least 50 percent through the development of additional clean energy facilities in the next three to five years. These four plants have a combined capacity of 468 megawatts (MW) serving more than 8 million people in Mindanao.

Alsons is currently prioritizing the development of eight run-of-river hydroelectric power facilities, with the 14.5-MW Siguil hydro plant in Maasim in Sarangani province expected to begin commercial operations before the end of the year.

Santillan added they aimed to commence next year the construction of three more facilities in Zamboanga del Norte, Negros Occidental and General Santos with a combined capacity of at least 37.8 MW.

Alsons logged a 67-percent growth in earnings in the first quarter of the year to P542.27 million as power demand recovered steadily in Mindanao.

Local debt watchdog Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) recently maintained Alsons’ “PRS Aa minus” credit rating, which meant that a company “has a strong capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to other Philippine corporates.”

PhilRatings considered the company’s planned expansion projects in maintaining the credit score.

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Alsons retains favorable credit rating