by Jenniffer B. Austria
[ manilastandardtoday.com ] May 4, 2011
Filinvest Development Corp., the listed holding company of the Gotianun family, posted a net income of P4.9 billion in 2010, up 79 percent from P2.7 billion in 2009, on the strong performance of core businesses.
Filinvest Development said in a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange that consolidated revenues jumped 37 percent to P22 billion from P16 billion a year ago.
The conglomerate, through its various subsidiaries, is engaged in real estate, financial and banking services, sugar and hotel businesses. The group recently expressed interest to go into power generation.
Revenues from sale of lots, condominium and residential units and club shares increased 64 percent to P6.8 billion from P4.2 billion in 2009, mainly due to the higher sales of middle-income residential projects of property unit Filinvest Land Inc.
Mall and rental revenues increased 16 percent to P1.6 billion in 2010 from P1.3 billion in 2009 due to additional leased space in Westgate at Filinvest Corporate City and Northgate Cyberzone and Filinvest Land’s acquisition of a 40-percent equity interest in Cybergate Properties Inc. in February 2010.
The group’s interest income from financial and banking services rose 13 percent to P5.8 billion for 2010 from P5.2 billion for 2009 due to a substantial increase in EastWest Banking Corp.’s loans and receivables as a result of higher consumer and corporate lending.
The group’s sugar sales increased 33 percent to P2.3 billion in 2010 from P1.7 billion in 2009 primarily due to favorable market prices.
Filinvest Development’s board in November approved the equity fund raising in a bid to widen the company’s public float as well as to fund investments in power generation. But due to volatility in the market during the first part of 2011, the company decided to defer the fund-raising activity.
The company, however, said it was still keen on pushing through “top-up” equity offering, in which the company’s major shareholder, ALG Holdings Corp., will sell 2.5 billion Filinvest Development shares to the public and subscribe to the same number of shares at the same price.
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