PRYCE Corp.’s unit that manufactures liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) received a court order that allowed it to go out of its corporate rehabilitation, ending 13 years of court procedures.
Pryce said its unit Pryce Gases Inc., which also manufactures and distributes industrial and medical gas, was ordered out of rehabilitation by the Regional Trial Court in Makati Branch 149.
The order was dated August 27, exactly 13 years since the company’s corporate rehabilitation was filed by its creditors.
Presiding Judge Cesar Untalan said in his order that the corporate rehabilitation of Pryce Gas has been “successful.”
“Wherefore, the instant rehabilitation proceedings is hereby closed and terminated,” the order stated it also discharged Gener Mendoza as the company’s rehabilitation receiver.
In July Pryce moved for the termination of its unit’s rehabilitation. The International Finance Corp. (IFC), a party to the case, also manifested that it has no objection to the said motion of the company.
“The termination of [Pryce Gas] rehabilitation proceedings will enable it to return to normal operations and allow it fresh access to credit and capital sources thereby making it possible to further expand its operations and tap opportunities for business growth, which, in turn, will put Pryce Corp. in a position of achieving its revenue and profit targets as a consolidated concern,” the company said.
Around 90 percent to 95 percent of Pryce’s revenues come from its gas unit and the rest comes from its real-estate operations.
On August 27, 2002, Pryce Gas creditors IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank, and Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschapij Voor Ontwikkelingslanden filed for the company’s rehabilitation after the firm experienced a series of downturns in its real-estate revenues resulting in its inability to service maturing bank debts.
Its parent firm racked some P1.25 billion in principal debt and had to gave up its crown jewel to pay off its debts in exchange for some of its real-estate assets.
According to its rehabilitation plan, Pryce will infuse up to P2.03 billion in assets as additional equity contributions to Pryce Gas.
The asset infusion consists of 110,000 memorial park lots in various locations in Mindanao, as well as a number of residential, commercial and undeveloped properties in the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Iligan, which are mortgaged to certain creditors.
For the first half of the year, the company said its income grew five times to P297.08 million from the previous year’s P55.7 million.
Volume sales of LPG rose by more than 50 percent to 67,800 metric tons (MT) from the previous year’s 43,794 MT.
“This profit level was achieved despite the downturn in selling prices brought about by the declining prices of petroleum products worldwide, including LPG. Notwithstanding the fall in prices, the company has been able to protect its margins, especially in LPG sales, the company’s principal product, it said.