BALAI ni Frutas Inc. became the very first food and beverage company to join the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc.’s (PSE) Small, Medium and Emerging (SME) Board with 1.49 billion shares and secondary shares listed.

Through a bell ringing ceremony, Balai held its stock market debut on Thursday, June 30, 2022, with PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Monzon citing the company’s initial public offering as significant and symbolic, as this proves that the exchange can be accessible to SMEs for their capital raising requirements.

SMEs are the main drivers of the country’s economic growth with a contribution of 63 percent to total employment and 40 percent to the country’s gross domestic product.

Balai currently has three active brands: Buko ni Fruitas, Balai Pandesal and Fruitas House of Desserts. It reported 2021 fiscal year revenues of

P148.9 million, a 35-percent increase from its 2020 record of P110.1 million and recorded 2021 net profit of P8.5 million, which was driven by the addition of the Balai Pandesal brand and strong performance of its stores.

The company reported revenues of P60.3 million and net profit of P6.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 alone. For the first quarter of 2022, Balai recorded P60.6 million of revenues and net profit of P6.4 million, and already at 41 percent and 75 percent of expected full-year 2021 levels, respectively.

Balai is expected to use proceeds from its primary offering for store network expansion as it targets the addition of 120 new stores by 2024 in the National Capital Region and other urban areas all over the country. The remainder of the proceeds will be used to set up a commissary and for potential acquisitions.