Emperador buys back P3.8M shares

Global liquor-maker Emperador Inc. (EMP) recently bought P3.85 million worth of its own shares as part of the company’s buyback program to improve share value.

A disclosure posted in the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday showed that Emperador had picked up 550,000 of its own shares from the open market at an average price of P7.0094 per share.

It can be recalled that Emperador had appropriated in May a total amount of P5 billion for its two-year share buyback program.

The shares bought by Emperador now form part of its treasury-held shares.

Kingson Sian, director at Emperador and president of its parent company Alliance Global Group Inc., earlier said that the share buyback program was launched because the company’s shares were undervalued.

Sian considered the buyback program as an indication of Emperador’s confidence that the company was “one of the better investments.

In his previous statement, he added that the buyback could create shareholders value and bring the value to “where it has to be.”

Currently, Emperador has a market value of P113 billion. The company manufactures, bottles and distributes distilled spirits and alcoholic beverages in the Philippines and in Europe. It sells a wide variety of products through its subsidiaries with an international reach of over 100 countries.

EMP has made its mark through Emperador Distillers Inc. in the Philippines, through Whyte and Mackay Group Ltd. in the United Kingdom, and through Bodegas Fundador S.L.U. in Spain. It is part of tycoon Andrew Tan-led conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc.

For the first quarter of 2017, the company’s net profit was at P1.5-billion, a 7 percent increase from the previous year. This was achieved due to higher gross margins on total revenues of P9 billion.