Alsons keeps PRS rating for P1.5-B papers

Credit to Author: JORDEENE B. LAGARE| Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2019 17:20:25 +0000

THE Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) has maintained the PRS A plus credit rating it gave to Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc.’s issuance of P1.5 billion worth of commercial papers.

The papers represent the first tranche of the Alcantara-led company’s commercial paper program of up to P2.5 billion, which the Securities and Exchange Commission approved last year.

The rating “means that the company has an above-average capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to other Philippine corporates,” Alsons quoted PhilRatings’ statement in a disclosure on Tuesday.

The local debt watcher kept the rating’s stable outlook, meaning it is unlikely to change in the next 12 months.

PhilRatings took into consideration the listed firm’s “positive growth prospects for
Mindanao, which will bring about an increasing demand for power” and its “ability to establish joint ventures with strong partners for particular projects.”

Proceeds of the first tranche have been earmarked for the development of various hydro facilities.

Alsons first received the PRS A plus (corp.) rating in 2018.

The company currently operates four facilities in Mindanao that generate a combined 468 megawatts (MW) of electricity, serving more than 8 million people in 13 cities and eight provinces. These include Davao City, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Iligan, and Zamboanga.

Alsons unit Sarangani Energy Corp. recently started commercial operations of the second 105-MW section of its baseload, coal-fired power plant in Maasim, Sarangani.

The $570-million plant, the single largest power investment in Region 12, will benefit more than 3 million additional people in Koronadal, Cagayan de Oro, Dapitan, Digos and other major areas in Mindanao.

Alsons also began preliminary work on a 14.5-MW run-of-river hydroelectric power plant at the Siguil River basin, also in Maasim.

This hydro facility, expected to go online in 2022, will supply electricity to Sarangani, General Santos City and key municipalities in South Cotabato.

The Siguil plant, which marked the firm’s foray into renewable energy, will be the first of eight run-of-river hydro facilities that it intends to develop in Zamboanga del Norte, other areas in Mindanao, and Negros Occidental in Western Visayas.

Alsons shares slipped by 1 centavo or 0.77 percent to close at P1.29 each on Tuesday.

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