BASIC Energy Corp. has tapped Unicapital, Inc. as advisor for future fund-raising activities, the listed power firm said in a brief disclosure yesterday.

The company said its board of directors, in a meeting last Wednesday, approved the “engagement of Unicapital… as exclusive financial advisor and investment banker for the company’s fund raising for its energy projects.”

Sought for details, Basic Energy President and Chief Executive Officer Oscar L. de Venecia, Jr. said in a text message: “We will begin discussing with Unicapital our requirements so we can look at our options for fund raising in the future.”
“No definite plans yet.”

Basic Energy is involved in various oil exploration activities. It currently holds minority stakes in service contracts (SC) 47 and SC 53, located offshore and onshore Mindoro province, respectively, as well as SC 41 in Sulu Sea.

The company, through its subsidiaries, is also involved in the production of ethanol and other biofuels; development of geothermal renewable energy resources; as well as development and production of farm products.

Basic holds geothermal service contracts in Mabini, Batangas; Iriga, Camarines Sur; Mariveles, Bataan; and East Mankayan which spans three provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region (Benguet, Mt. Province and Ifugao).

Last February, it also announced its plan to venture into hydropower development after it bagged contracts to develop four projects with total capacity of 9 megawatts (MW). These contracts cover the Puntian 1, Puntian 2, and Talabaan hydro projects with a capacity of 2 MW each; and the 3-MW Malogo project.

The projects are located in the municipality of Murcia, as well as the cities of Victoria and Cadiz — all in Negros Occidental.
The company trimmed its net loss to P5.643 million as of end March from P5.860 million in the same three months last year.
In the same comparative periods, revenues grew 27.28% to P5.976 million from P4.695 million, while expenses jumped 28.1% to P11.619 million from P9.07 million.

Shares of the company were last traded on Wednesday, when they ended 26 centavos apiece.

Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=Energy-firm-eyes-fund-raising&id=88297