SMB plans P20-B bond offering

San Miguel Brewery Inc. has filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer up to P20 billion in fixed rate bonds, marking its return to the domestic bond market three years after a historic retail bond debut.

The beer unit of diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday that it had filed a registration statement at the corporate regulator relating to the issuance of these bonds.

According to the disclosure, the proposed issuance will involve three tenors: five years and one day, seven years and 10 years.

SMB debuted on the local bond market in 2009 with the issuance of P38.8 billion worth of retail bonds, so far the single largest bond deal in the local market.

A tranche of the bond issue worth P13.6 billion is maturing in April this year and SMB is planning to refinance it with portion of the proceeds from the new bond float. The remainder will be used to help pay ahead of maturity a $300-million creditor term facility.

SMB grew its net profit last year by 17.4 percent to P12.2 billion on the back of higher volume and selling prices. Its consolidated net sales revenue grew by 6.3 percent to P71.9 billion last year, driven by higher sales volume for both domestic and international operations, as well as higher selling prices.