Posted on May 18, 2012 07:53:27 PM [
BusinessWorld Online ]
FILINVEST LAND, Inc. has earned the
corporate regulators’ approval to issue fixed-rate bonds worth P11 billion to
bankroll a portion of its capital expenditure this year, a Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) document showed on Friday.
Following an en banc meeting on Thursday,
the SEC endorsed the Gotianun-led developer’s earlier-announced bid to roll out
seven-year bonds in two tranches, with the first tranche worth P7 billion to be
issued within the year’s second quarter, and the second tranche worth P4
billion to be issued either in the third or fourth quarter, the document read.
Proceeds from the bond offer will be
used to finance the company’s P15-billion capex for this year, earlier reports
said.
BDO Capital and Investment Corp., BPI
Capital Corp., and First Metro Investment Corp. have been tapped as joint issue
managers and will serve as joint lead underwriters along with Hong Kong and
Shanghai Banking Corp.
The Gotianun’s banking arm, East West
Banking Corp., will act as selling agent for the proposed bond issuance.
Local debt watcher Philippine Rating
Services Corp. earlier assigned its top AAA ranking for these bonds, citing
Filinvest Land’s reportedly strong income generation, sound debt position, and
financial flexibility.
Filinvest Land, formerly known as Citation
Homes, Inc., was incorporated in 1989 to engage in real estate development,
with business segments divided into real estate and leasing segments.
Last month, the Gotianun-led real
estate firm said it was interested in expanding its core middle-income business
in high-growth areas in Visayas and Mindanao next year.
As of end-2011, the company held a
2,288-hectare land bank, 84% of which was located in areas of Mega Manila,
including the CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) area and
Bulacan province.
For the year, Filinvest Land will
launch 12,100 units among 14 new projects, with nearly 40% of which to come
from the socialized sector, versus 6,500 units from 11 new projects launched
last year.
Filinvest Land realized a 21% hike in
its net income to P748 million for the January to March period this year versus
P620 million last year
Total first quarter revenues amounted
to P2.73 billion, up 41% from P1.93 billion last year, buoyed by a 50% jump in
real estate sales to P2.04 billion from P1.36 billion last year, and a 14%
uptick in rental income to P410 million versus P359 million, year on year.
Filinvest Land shares dipped by 0.79%
to P1.26 apiece on Friday from P1.27 at its previous close. -- Franz Jonathan
G. De La Fuente
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