SHARES of Cebu-based fuel retailer Top Line Business Development Corp. (Topline) slipped on its market debut, even as the local bourse saw a rebound on Tuesday.
Topline is the first initial public offering (IPO) on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) this year.
Shares in Topline opened at their IPO price of 31 centavos. It fell by 9.68% to an intraday low of 28 centavos.
Topline closed 3.23% lower at 30 centavos per share at the end of Tuesday’s trading.
“Topline opened to a weak start on its first trading day, weighed down by bearish global market sentiment following Trump’s imposition of reciprocal tariffs,” DragonFi Securities, Inc. Equity Research Analyst Jarrod Leighton M. Tin said in a Viber message.
“Given the subdued debut, investor appetite for upcoming IPOs this year may remain muted until overall market sentiment improves. The fundamentals are good. It’s just that this is not the best environment for growth stocks,” he added.
The benchmark PSE index (PSEi) on Tuesday closed 3.15% higher at 6,006.34. The PSEi bounced back from the 4.29% decline on Monday, amid a broader sell-off in Asian markets due to the US tariffs.
US President Donald J. Trump imposed a minimum of 10% tariff for all US imports, with targeted rates of up to 50% on some countries, raising worries of a global trade war and a recession. He slapped a 17% reciprocal tariff on Philippine goods, but this was among the lowest in Southeast Asia.
“Global markets tumbled (on Monday) as a result of Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs, or as some call it, Liquidation Day tariffs. Less than stellar market conditions and every imaginable headwind are among the realities that publicly listed firms have to contend with,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said during the Topline listing ceremony.
“But I believe Topline can navigate these headwinds in the financial markets,” he added.
Eugene Erik C. Lapasaran Lim, Topline chairman, chief executive officer, and president, said the company’s IPO has seen strong market demand.
“While we acknowledge broader market challenges affecting investor sentiment, both locally and globally, we are glad for our IPO’s oversubscription, receiving overwhelming support from our institutional and retail investors,” Mr. Lim said.
Topline raised up to P732.6 million from its IPO that consisted of 2.15 billion primary shares with an overallotment option of up to 214.84 million secondary shares. The company’s shares were listed on the PSE’s main board with a 22% public float.
Mr. Monzon said Topline is the sixth company listed on the PSE that is either Cebu-based or has main operations in Cebu.
“Since listing dates are milestones, it is understandable that there are investors who put a lot of importance on a stock’s performance stock market debut. But as I’ve said many, many times, an IPO is not the be-all and end-all of a company’s existence. It is just the beginning,” Mr. Monzon said.
“Being listed gives a company a seal of good housekeeping in terms of good governance, regulatory compliance, and implicit transparency of management.”
In a separate interview on Money Talks with Cathy Yang program on One News Channel, Mr. Lim said that Topline is not affected by the uncertainties caused by the US tariffs.
“The Philippines is taxed not really very high. That’s probably one of the bright spots… Then with the existing oil pricing, it’s quite soft right now… It depends on what industry you are into. But so far for us, since we have a very good pricing strategy, it’s either the price of oil will go up or go down. We’re still fine with that,” he said.
“It’s not really that much in terms of pricing especially for the fuel products, since at the end of the day, we’ve been importing ever since. The Philippines is a net importing country. The fundamentals are still there, so we’re still quite excited for this listing,” he added.
The PSE is expecting six IPOs this year. Other companies seen to list this year include mobile wallet GCash and water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
