Stocks to Watch: Fruitas, ripe to pick?

Ralf Rivas

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Stocks to Watch: Fruitas, ripe to pick?
Fruitas lists on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, November 29. Get to know its brands, financials, and future plans here.

MANILA, Philippines – Food and beverage kiosk operator Fruitas Holdings is listing on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Friday, November 29.

Is Fruitas ripe for investors to pick? Get to know the company here.

History. The company started from a single kiosk in SM Manila back in 2002. 

After 17 years, Fruitas boasts 1,036 stores across the country, with new kiosks recently opened in Metro Manila and key provinces like Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, Tarlac, Zambales, Cebu, Iloilo, Aklan, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro.

Brands. Aside from fruit shakes like Fruitas and coconut beverages under Buko ni Fruitas, here are some more of the company’s brands:

  • De Original Jamaican Pattie
  • Johnn Lemon
  • Sabroso Lechon
  • Juice Avenue
  • Black Pearl

It is also the company behind lifestyle food parks Le Village and Uno Cinquenta in Quezon City.

How did its maiden share sale go? Fruitas will debut on the PSE under the ticker symbol FRUIT.

Its initial public offering (IPO) was priced at P1.68 apiece and was “well-received by retail and institutional investors, resulting in an oversubscription of the offering,” according to the company. (READ: Subscribing to IPOs can now be done via smartphones)

“The broker tranche was more than 2.5 times oversubscribed, while the local small investor tranche was a record amount for a Philippine IPO. The exceptional performance and positive response from the market prove that the public believes in Fruitas’ strong fundamentals and aggressive expansion plans in the country,” said Daniel Camacho, executive vice president of First Metro Investment Corporation.

Proceeds from the IPO will finance the company’s store network expansion and the improvement of existing stores. 

The IPO will also pave the way for the introduction of new concepts as well as acquisition of future brands, commissary expansion, and debt repayment.

How are its financials? In 2018, Fruitas reported P1.6 billion in consolidated revenues, a 37% increase from P1.15 billion in 2017, driven by network expansion and strong performance of its stores.

Fruitas earlier said it expects consolidated revenues of P2 billion in 2019, amid a favorable economic environment and more opportunities for expansion. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!
Tie, Accessories, Accessory

author

Ralf Rivas

A sociologist by heart, a journalist by profession. Ralf is Rappler's business reporter, covering macroeconomy, government finance, companies, and agriculture.