Synergy Grid sets P1.37 billion dividend payout for Q3

MANILA, Philippines — Synergy Grid and Development Philippines Inc. (SGP) is set to pay out cash dividend totaling P1.37 billion for the third quarter, the same amount the company declared in the previous quarter.

SGP said its board of directors approved the dividend declaration to all stockholders in the amount of P0.26 per outstanding common share, similar to the second quarter dividend previously distributed and paid out last July 26.

“SGP maintained the same level of dividends for this quarter. This follows the high dividend yield last quarter from the issuance of the preferred shares of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in June, to which SGP subscribed to using the proceeds from its follow-on offering,” SGP chairman Henry Sy Jr. said.

The cash dividends will be payable on Oct. 19 to stockholders of record as of Oct. 5, 2022.

“We thank the investing public for its continued trust and partnership with SGP, which, in return, supports the ongoing transmission projects for the development of the country’s power grid being undertaken by NGCP,” SGP vice chairman Robert  Coyiuto Jr. said.

Coyiuto said several critical projects for the grid’s improvement are underway and would come into fruition in the coming months.

NGCP, which holds a 25-year concession and a 50-year congressional franchise to expand and operate the country’s power transmission grid, is SGP’s sole operating asset.

It holds the sole and exclusive concession and franchise for the operation of the Philippines’ transmission network, linking power generators and distribution utilities to deliver electricity to power distributors and cooperatives nationwide.

NGCP is committed to invest approximately P440 billion in the next 13 years across 211 projects which are aimed to support the country’s growing electricity demand and make its power backbone continuously reliable.

Last August, NGCP announced the completion of the P307-million upgrading of the over 50-year-old San Jose-Angat line, boosting the reliability of power transmission services for the Luzon grid.

The upgrade included a new third circuit spanning 18 kilometers and another fourth circuit of the same length.

SGP conducted its follow-on offering in November last year in compliance with NGCP’s franchise undertakings.

SGP, a holding company listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange, indirectly controls 60 percent of the outstanding common shares of NGCP, with an effective common share interest of 40.2 percent.

The company likewise owns 203.2 million non-voting preferred shares of NGCP.