FIRST Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH), the Lopez Group’s holding firm for its core businesses, plans to continue its share buyback program to shore up the company’s shares and improve shareholder return.
FPH President Francis Giles Puno made the statement during a stockholders’ meeting on Friday in response to a shareholder’s question on whether the company would be pursuing a more aggressive buyback given its current share price.
Puno said FPH has been actively repurchasing its shares since the launch of the buyback program in 2010. To date, the company has bought back 185 million shares at a total cost of P13.1 billion.
“Given the undervaluation of FPH shares, we believe that the best way forward is to continue the buyback program,” Puno said.
“This will benefit loyal shareholders who choose to remain with the company as they will own a larger share of a valuable company,” he added.
“For shareholders who wish to sell their shares, FPH, through the share buyback program, serves as a ready buyer, providing them with an immediate opportunity to realize the value of their investment at fair market value.”
The buyback program, Puno said, is also a means of distributing cash to shareholders. In 2025 alone, FPH paid P3.4 billion to shareholders through the repurchase program.
Separately, Puno also clarified the governance rights attached to Angsana Capital Management’s acquisition of KKR’s 19.9-percent stake in First Gen Corp.
He said KKR had acquired its stake from the secondary market and did not establish a shareholder agreement with FPH.
“Consequently, Angsana did not obtain any special or contractual governance rights to its purchase of KKR’s holdings, maintaining only the standard statutory rights granted to minority shareholders under the revised Corporation Code,” Puno said.
FPH shares on Friday dropped P2.05, or 2.29 percent, to P87.50 each.