Phoenix Semiconductor's share price jumps 7.9% in PSE debut

LISTED. Phoenix Semiconductor Philippines Corporation concludes its initial public offering by listing its shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Monday, December 1. Photo from PSE

MANILA, Philippines – The share price of Korean semiconductor firm Phoenix Semiconductor Philippines Corporation (PSPC) jumped 7.9% during its maiden offering Monday, December 1.

The stock price of PSPC rose to P3.40 ($0.076*) per share before closing unchanged from its initial public offering price of P3.15 ($0.070) per share.

PSPC, the first Korean-owned company to list with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), sold a total of 324.73 million common shares.

The company raised P1.02 billion ($22.80 million) in proceeds from the initial public offering (IPO), to be used to expand its current production capacity in Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga of 6.5 million units to 110 million units annually.

The company is also studying the possibility of developing phase two and phase 3 expansion as demand for semiconductor remains on an upward trend.

PSPC vice president and CFO Dongjoo Kim said the company is currently negotiating with Japanese and US companies to expand its client base.

“We are facing increasing demand from the overseas market and we also have strong confidence in the Philippine market, so we are expanding our facility to serve more customers,” Kim said.

Also, PSPC is looking to offer other semiconductor products to the market, including non-memory semiconductor products over the next 3 to 5 years.

Kim hopes to finalize negotiations with new clients by next year.

The company did not exercise the 134.63 million over allotment shares since local banks have expressed interest in providing the company with credit facilities.

PSPC is owned by STS Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co Ltd, one of of South Korea’s leading providers of comprehensive semiconductor packaging and test services.

PSPC is engaged in the manufacture, assembly, test, and warehousing of semiconductor and memory devices and applications and related products. It is a major supplier of technology giant Samsung.

The company started commercial operations in the country in February 2011 and has since been awarded as one of the top exporters within Clark Freeport Zone.

Last year, the semiconductor firm posted a net income of P607 million ($13.57 million), up 5% from P557 million ($12.45 million) recorded in 2012.

Revenues went up 6.8% to P9.36 billion ($209.13million) versus 2012 level of P8.76 billion ($195.78 million). – Rappler.com

SOURCE: http://www.rappler.com/business/industries/capital-markets/76740-phoenix-semiconductor-pse-debut