Seaoil to spend P1-B for expansion

MANILA, Philippines – Independent fuel company Seaoil Philippines will spend more than a billion pesos this year to expand its retail operations in the country.

Glenn Yu, SEAOIL President, said the company invested about P1.13 billion in 2012 in its retail and distribution network. “We expect to spend similar level this year to continue our expansion in terms of our retail network,” he said.

Seaoil claims to be the largest player among independent oil firms in the Philippines with a market share of 4%.

The company currently has 340 gasoline stations nationwide, including stations under construction. “We continue to remain optimistic in terms of our expansion. We continue to expand and we hope to hit 400 sometime this year,” said Yu.

Yu also said Seaoil has been growing by 20% to 25% over the past several years. The company reported revenues of P16 billion in 2012.

Despite its growth, the oil firm is undecided on whether it will go public this year following a previous aborted attempt due to the global financial crisis.

“For us it’s always a consideration of when we see the market going and our expansion plans and also the strength of our balance sheet. We continue to look at maintaining a strong balance sheet and if we believe that there’s a need to tap the equity market so as to continue to strengthen that balance sheet to speed up our expansion then we will do that,” Yu said. – Rappler.com