FOOD and beverage firm Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF) is earmarking a higher amount of P4 billion to P5 billion for capital expenditures (capex) this year to fund investments and expand the capacity of its coconut business.
“We announced an expanded agreement with Vita Coco, which will bring incremental volumes over the next four to five years. This includes a $40-million investment in additional capacity to serve both OEM [original equipment manufacturer] and domestic markets,” CNPF Executive Chairman Chris Po said.
“As it comes online, we expect to create 1,500 quality manufacturing jobs in Mindanao,” he told stockholders on Monday.
CNPF President and Chief Executive Officer Ted Po added that the capital spending was already in progress for this year and should increase capacity by 25 percent.
“We are in the mid-stages of completing our expansion of our coconut processing capacity because we’ve been getting more and more demand from our principals in the US and in Southeast Asia,” he added.
“I think we’re also creating multipliers across the coconut supply chain. So, coconut water comes with coconut meat, comes with coconut shell, the byproducts of which would be coconut flour and all of the other attendant byproducts, so there’s a whole ecosystem built around coconut processing, and we’re certainly happy to grow that business.”
Asked if the company has plans to raise funds from the equity market, the company’s chairman said, “There are no plans at this point in time. We have very healthy cash flows, and all our capex requirements can be served by internal cash flow.”
“[W]e’re very grateful for the support of the banking community, our banking partners. So, if ever we … had some short-term gaps, they’re always ready to support us. So, no plans to raise equity at this point.”
He announced the declaration of an additional P0.48 per share special cash dividend, doubling the declared cash dividend for 2024.
Shareholders on record as of July 31, 2024, will receive the payout on Aug. 16, 2024. CNPF will release a total of P1.7 billion for the dividends.
CNPF earlier this year declared a regular cash dividend of P0.24 per share and a special cash dividend of P0.24 per share.
The company’s shares rose 95 centavos, or 2.95 percent, to P33.10 apiece on Monday amid a 0.20-percent decline for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.
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