Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., the retail arm of the Gokongwei Group that operates supermarkets, department stores, community malls, and consumer electronics and drug stores, said Friday it is nearing the final stretch of its P6-billion shares buyback program, with the balance of the budget for the shares repurchase down to P39.7 million.
Since the company initiated the buyback program at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Robinsons Retail added a total P4 billion to the initial P2-billion budget to help shore up shareholder value.
As of 17 August, the company said it already spent P5.96 billion to buy back a total 107.2 million shares that it had placed in treasury. The repurchased shares represent a 6.8 percent stake in Robinsons Retail.
At last count in July, public ownership of Robinsons Retail is around 30.4 percent, way above the minimum public ownership of 20 percent for listed companies.
It is unclear whether Robinsons Retail will allocate additional funds to repurchase more shares.
Robinsons Retail priced its shares during the initial public offering in November 2013 at P58. It steadily rose, reaching the P100 mark several years later before falling below its IPO price at the start of the pandemic. Even with the shares buyback program, the company’s shares has largely stayed below the IPO price and last traded Thursday at P51.95.
