KUALA LUMPUR: Farm Price Holdings Bhd's shares doubled in value on their debut on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia, after an initial public offering (IPO) that raised RM24.5mil to fund the company's expansion.
As the trading stock of the fresh vegetable, food and beverage wholesaler commenced trading, it was bought up to 48 sen a share, a 100% increase over the IPO price of 24 sen a share.
At 9.25am, the share stood at 41 sen a share, a 17 sen or 70.82% increase over the reference price with 92.28 million shares done.
Farm Price had a market capitalisation of RM108mil upon listing, based on an enlarged issued share capital of 450 million shares.
For its IPO, the group issued 102 million new ordinary shares, constituting 22.67% of its enlarged share capital.
Of the 102 million shares, 22.50 million were allocated for the public’s subscription via balloting and 11.25 million shares for eligible directors, employees and persons who had contributed to the success of the group, while the remaining 68.25 million shares were allotted for private placements to selected investors.
A private placement was also conducted for the offer-for-sale of 33 million existing shares, equivalent to 7.33% of the enlarged shares.
The proceeds of the IPO are to be utilised for the company's expansion, with RM6.4mil earmarked for the construction of new facilities, RM2mil to purchase machinery, equipment and a logistic fleet, RM1.6mil for a regional distribution and procurement centre, RM10.58mil for working capital and the remainder for listing expenses.
In the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, Farm Price posted a net profit of RM2.67mil, which translated to an earnings per share of 0.01 sen, on revenue of RM30.71mil.
No comparative figures for the preceding year’s quarter are available as this was the first interim financial report announced in compliance with the listing requirements of Bursa Securities.
