FRUITAS HOLDINGS LISTS SHARES AT PSE – Fruitas Holdings, Inc. listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday. Shown at the traditional bell-ringing ceremony (from left) are: Fruitas Independent Director Bambi E. Donato, Chief Financial Officer Irene O. Chua, Fruitas Independent Directors Dennis Beng Hui and Shirley Tan, Chief Financial Adviser Calvin F. Chua, Chairman Roger Guadalquiver, Fruitas President & CEO Lester C. Yu, PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo, PSE President & CEO Ramon S. Monzon, and PSE Chief Operating Officer Roel A. Refran.
By James A. Loyola
Fruitas Holdings, Inc., the leading food and beverage kiosk operator, made a fruitful debut at the Philippine Stock Exchange with its share price gained 1.79 percent on listing day.
Even though the stock market traded lower, Fruitas’ stock surged to a high of ₱2.45 per share from its initial public offering (IPO) price of ₱1.68 per share as investors who failed to secure IPO allocations bought up the stock in the market.
However, it succumbed to profit-taking towards the end of the trading session and settled at ₱1.71 per share.
Fruitas expects to exceed earnings targets this year and do even better next year as the firm’s aggressive expansion plan continues to bear more fruit.
In an interview after the firm’s successful debut at the Philippine Stock Exchange, Fruitas Founder and President Lester Yu said “we may exceed target this year and next year will definitely be better with the completion of our juice plant in Quezon City.”
The firm was forecast to generate ₱2 billion in revenues and ₱130 million in net income this year from the ₱1.6-billion revenues and ₱100-million profit registered in 2018.
The firm raised ₱1 billion from its offer of 533.66 million shares and an over-allotment option of 68.34 million shares at ₱1.68 per share.
The primary proceeds will fund Fruitas’ store network expansion and improvement, acquisitions and new concept introductions, commissary expansion and debt repayment.
“The listing provides us funding which will allow us to be nimble and respond to our customers’ evolving preferences. Together with the IPO proceeds and strong cash generation of our operations, the listing will open up more opportunities for us to aggressively grow our business,” Yu said.
The Group targets to expand its store network at 150 to 250 stores annually up to 2022, acquire value-adding foodservice businesses, introduce new concepts, and diversify its distribution channels.
Earlier this year, the company partnered with Andok’s to sell Fruitas coconut and calamansi juice across over 50 stores and has tapped the services of Grab’s food delivery services in order to make more accessible to customers its brands such as Fruitas, Buko Loco, Buko ni Fruitas, De Original Jamaican Pattie, Johnn Lemon, Sabroso Lechon, House of Desserts, Black Pearl, and Tea Rex.
At the same time, Fruitas has also signed a partnership with Landmark to make its bottled juice products available in its supermarkets all over Metro Manila.
Fruitas has cemented its position as a market leader across four business segments in the kiosk industry — fruit shakes under Fruitas, coconut beverages under Buko ni Fruitas, meat-filled pastries under De Original Jamaican Pattie, and lemonade Johnn Lemon, based on a recent study by the University of Asia & Pacific.