MANILA, Philippines – Investors were not going nuts over coconuts manufacturer Axelum Resources Corporation on its first day on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Monday, October 7.

Axelum, which bears the trading symbol AXLM, had its shares fall by 6.2% to P4.69 apiece. 

It opened at P5.29 from its initial public offer of P5. It went as high as P5.30 and dipped to as low as P4.19 intraday.

Axelum is the first to list on the main board of the PSE since March 2018.

Axelum chairman Romeo Chan admitted that the company cannot expect a surge “considering the turbulent times.”

The benchmark index started the week on a negative note, falling by 0.28% to 7,683. 

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said Philippine shares fell as fears of a recession in the United States lingered and affected stocks across the region. 

Last week alone, the PSE index dropped by 1.5%.

“The company may have been the result of collateral damage,” Limlingan said.

Chan said they are not worried, adding that Axelum is a “long-term play.”

“The fundamentals are very sound. We [did] very well in the past 33 years and we expect it to continue doing well,” he said.

Axelum president Henry Raperoga added that the company recently bagged a new order for 170 metric tons of organic coconut milk powder to be used for a skin care product.

“This line is among the high-margin products that we are pursuing. We can actually command a premium price for this product,” said Raperoga.

Without divulging numbers, Chan said the company is on track to hit its growth targets for 2019.

As for Axelum shares, Limlingan said, “There is still some possibility that bargain hunters will pick the stock up since it fell on opening today.” – Rappler.com