Raslag eyes June 6 listing

MANILA, Philippines — Raslag Corp., the renewable energy developer of the Nepomuceno Group of Companies, is targeting to debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in June with a P700-million initial public offering (IPO).

The public offer period will run from May 24 to 30 while the listing date is on June 6 under the stock symbol “ASLAG.”

In a virtual briefing yesterday, Raslag founder and chairman Peter Nepomuceno said the company took some time in completing the requirements set by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the PSE.

The company is conducting an IPO to comply with the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001.

Under the law, all private power generation companies and distribution utilities are directed to sell at least 15 percent of common shares to the public in a period of five years.

“Since it’s a requirement under the EPIRA, we have to do it. We started by getting a consultant, Sage Solutions, to help us do the preparation,” Nepomuceno said.

Raslag plans to sell 350 million common shares at a price of up to P2 apiece, raising as much as P700 million.

“If overallotment is sold, the public float will be 26 percent,” Nepomuceno said.

He said investors can expect steady income and yearly dividends from its operating solar plants and better yields with its pipeline of solar projects.

The steady income will come from the operations of Raslag 1 and 2, which are enjoying feed-in tariff (FIT) rate, which is a guaranteed income for 20 years.

The 10.046-megawatt peak (MWp) Raslag-1 Solar Power Plant and 13.141 MWp Raslag-2 Solar Power Plant are both located in Mexico, Pampanga.

“We still have 14 years of guaranteed income. The buyers of the shares will be assured of income for the next 14 years. The company will not be in the red, it will continue with its stable income,” Nepomuceno said.

“We have a gross income of P309 million for the past five years, which gives us P150 million profit every year,” he said.

Meanwhile, the company is working on the 18.011-MWp Raslag-3, the 35.2-MWp Raslag-4 Solar Power Plant, and the 60-MWp RASLAG-5 Solar Power Plant.

Set for commercial operations by May 2, Raslag-3 will nearly double the company’s generation capacity this year.

“When Raslag-3 operates, it will add income to the company, and that will bring up earnings per share. When Raslag-4 operates, it will increase the ROI,” Nepomuceno said.

In terms of dividends, the company has a track record of giving yearly dividends.

“Our dividend policy is we give 30 to 50 percent…Our dividends in the past years were P75 million in 2019, P50 million in 2020, P150 million in 2021,” Nepomuceno said.

Of the total projected proceeds, the company plans to allocate P30.4 million to pay for the balance of land acquisition for Raslag-4 and P330 million to partly bankroll the construction of said solar project.

Raslag-4, which has project cost P1.5 billion, is targeted to start construction in the second quarter of 2023 with completion slated in March 2024.

The company plans to allocate P250 million of the IPO proceeds to fund the pre-development work of the 60-MWp Raslag-5 solar power plant in Panipuan, Mexico, Pampanga.

With a project cost of P2.1 billion, Raslag-5 is eyed to begin construction in the second quarter of 2024 with completion and commercial commissioning in March 2025.

China Bank Capital Corp. is the sole issue manager, sole underwriter and sole bookrunner of the offer.