First Philippine Holdings Corp. said its board approved a new share buyback program that gives the Lopez-led conglomerate up to P5 billion to repurchase its own shares over the next two years while also declaring P467 million in cash dividends.
The company said the share buyback program will run from Oct. 1, 2026 to Sept. 30, 2028.
At First Holdings’ current market price, the program could theoretically fund the repurchase of about 13 percent of its 424.5 million outstanding common shares. The company already holds 185.1 million shares as treasury stock, acquired through a similar buyback program that started in 2010.
The buyback gives First Holdings another tool for managing its capital structure at a time when the group continues to navigate changes in its portfolio and ownership landscape.
Lopez Holdings Inc. owns 60.7 percent of First Holdings, whose interests span power generation, real estate, manufacturing, construction services and other businesses. Its major subsidiaries include listed First Gen Corp., Energy Development Corp. and Rockwell Land Corp.
The group’s power portfolio has also been reshaped by the entry of infrastructure investor Enrique Razon Jr. through Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc., which acquired a 60% stake in First Gen in a transaction valued at P50 billion. The deal triggered a dispute within the Lopez group over the transaction and its implications for the conglomerate.
Separately, First Holdings declared a cash dividend of P1.10 per common share, with a record date of Nov. 23 and payment scheduled for Dec. 15.
The dividend represents a total cash distribution of P467 million, adding an immediate return to shareholders alongside the longer-term capital-management option represented by the buyback.
