DMCI Homes raises P10B from debt issue

Posted on October 31, 2012 08:26:21 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]

DMCI Project Developers, Inc. (DMCI Homes), the wholly owned property arm of DMCI Holdings, Inc., has raised P10 billion in fresh capital for project spending and land banking from a recent notes issue, the listed parent said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

“This is to inform the investing public that our real estate and housing development subsidiary, DMCI Homes, recently signed a facility agreement with a group of primary institutional lenders for DMCI Homes’ issuance of P10 billion in seven-year fixed-rate corporate notes,” the disclosure read.

DMCI Homes said it will use issue proceeds “to finance project development and construction costs, acquire real estate properties, and fund other general corporate purposes.”

“The amount is already provided by local banks, to be drawn within one year,” Aldric G. Borlaza, DMCI Holdings senior finance officer, said in a text message when asked on the profile of the issue’s institutional investors.

The notes issue was originally sized at P5 billion, but robust demand prompted DMCI Homes to exercise the issue’s overallotment option and upgrade the issue size to P10 billion, the disclosure said.

Sy-led BDO Capital & Investment Corp. served as lead arranger and sole bookrunner of the notes issue.

DMCI Homes had allotted P8 billion in capital expenditures to bankroll its property projects this year.

The property firm last March acquired three lots on Sheridan Street, Mandaluyong City, previously owned by food firm Swift Foods, Inc. for P500.22 million, boosting the the former’s land portfolio by an additional 11,116 square meters.

DMCI Homes grew its net income by 42.01% to P1.2 billion in the first half from P845 million the previous year, while revenues rose 40.63% to P4.5 billion from P3.2 billion, DMCI Holdings’ end-June financial statement showed.

DMCI Holdings, for its part, hiked profits 9.47% to P5.78 billion from P5.28 billion in the same comparative six-month period, thanks to gains made in its principal coal mining and infrastructure businesses.

In the same six-month period, revenues -- mostly from coal sales and construction contracts -- rose 4.81% to P27.47 billion from P26.21 billion, while cost of sales and services expanded 10.07% to P17.81 billion from P16.18 billion.

Shares of DMCI Holdings were traded at P54 apiece on Wednesday, unchanged from Tuesday’s close. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente       

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Ayala Land issues first tranche of Homestarter Bonds

Posted on October 31, 2012 08:25:52 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]

PROPERTY DEVELOPER Ayala Land, Inc. issued on Wednesday the first tranche of its Homestarter Bonds, which have been top-rated by Credit Rating and Investors Services Philippines, Inc. (CRISP) that cited the company’s sound fundamentals.

“Please be informed that Ayala Land issued today, Oct. 31, P1 billion of fixed-rate bonds (the ‘Ayala Land Homestarter Bonds’). The issuance represents the first tranche of the aggregate P3-billion fixed-rate bonds registered with and approved for sale to the general public by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),” Ayala Land said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Wednesday.

The bonds, which will mature three years from issue date, are priced at 100% of face value and have an interest rate of 5% per annum.

Proceeds from the bond issuance will be allotted for Ayala Land’s general corporate spending activities, the firm said.

Upon the bonds’ expected maturity on Oct. 31, 2015, bondholders will have the option to use the Homestarter Bonds’ principal as full or partial down payment for a purchase of an Ayala Land property, or simply have the amount remitted to a designated account, the bonds’ registration statement read.

Local debt watcher CRISP assigned its top AAA credit rating to Ayala Land, citing the property company’s “market leadership, effective land banking strategy, and robust financial performance and high-quality assets,” a statement by CRISP on Wednesday showed.

CRISP also gave Ayala Land a “stable” outlook on its rating, anchored on a similarly bullish forecast on the company’s profits and project portfolio in the near term.

“CRISP assigns a stable credit outlook for Ayala Land’s issuer rating as CRISP continues to believe that Ayala Land’s strong financial performance will continue and rollout of its new development projects will sustain its leadership position,” the statement read.

Ayala Land was organized in 1988 when parent firm Ayala Corp. decided to spin off its real estate division into an independent subsidiary, according to data posted on PSE’s Web site. It went public in 1991.

For 2012, Ayala Land had allotted a record P37 billion in capital expenditures to fund around 67 new projects with an estimated sales value of P90 billion, as well as for the acquisition of new properties, the firm said last February.

Ayala Land grew its net income by 28% to P4.33 billion in the first half from P3.38 billion the previous year, supported by double-digit gains across all its business lines, its latest financial report as of end-June showed.

In the same comparative six-month periods, consolidated revenues rose 18% to P25.02 billion from P21.25 billion, while costs and expenses increased 13.50% to P18.41 billion from P16.22 billion.

Ayala Land shares gained 0.21% or five centavos to P23.55 apiece on Wednesday from P23.50 on Tuesday. -- FJGDLF          

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Ayala turns over P19.46-b initial payment for FTI

By Jenniffer B. Austria | Posted on Oct. 31, 2012 at 12:01am |

[ manilastandardtoday.com ]

Ayala Land Inc. made an initial payment of P19.46 billion to the national government for the 74-hectare Food Terminal Inc. complex in Taguig City.

Ayala Land investor relations officer Pamela Ann Perez said in a text message the company made the payment on Monday. Perez said the balance of P4.84 billion was due in 2013.

Ayala Land emerged as the winning bidder for the 74-hectare FTI in August. The property is one of the last remaining large parcels of land in Metro Manila that is ready for immediate development.

Ayala Land said it planned to transform the area into another business district. Other business districts currently being developed by Ayala Land are the Makati central business district, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Vertis North in Quezon City and Cebu Park district.

The company said while its bid was P9 billion higher than the second highest offer, the property was acquired at a significant discount to land values in Makati and Bonifacio Global City, which continued to appreciate overtime due to planning and continuous development.

The property firm raised P15 billion from issuance of fixed-rate callable bonds in May and generated another P13.6 billion from top-up placement in July. It plans to use proceeds from the offering to partly fund the group’s massive land banking program worth about P36 billion, spread over a two- to three-year period.

A portion of the capital raised will also be used to finance Ayala Land’s strategic partnership with Ortigas group, which owns huge tracks of land in Quezon City, Pasig, San Juan and Mandaluyong.

Ayala Land earlier said it set aside P15 billion in initial investment for the strategic partnership.

Ayala Land reported a 38-percent increase in first-half net income to P4.33 billion from P3.38 billion posted in the same period last year as revenues grew18 percent to P25 billion from P21.2 billion during the period.

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AB Leisure invests P4B for casino

Published on 31 October 2012 [ manilatimes.net ]

Written by MADELAINE B. MIRAFLOR

AB Leisure Global Inc. (ABLGI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Leisure & Resorts World Corp. (LRWC), is set to provide P4 billion for the construction of LRWC’s Belle casino project in Entertainment City, which has a project value of $1 billion.

“ABLGI will provide funding to Belle for the Casino Project equivalent to 30 percent of Belle’s interest, or an estimated P4 billion which will be funded through debt and internally generated income,” a memorandum of agreement on the matter said.

ABLGI, in exchange for its contribution, will be entitled to 30 percent of the fixed yearly income generated from the leasing of all commercial spaces in the project, inclusive of the hotel, retail and casino premises.

The company will also be paid fees equivalent to “30 percent of Premium Leisure and Amusement Inc.’s [PLAI], another wholly owned subsidiary of LRWC, 50 percent share from casino operations or 30 percent of PLAI’s 15 percent share of the net win, whichever is higher, after deducting PLAI’s royalty which is based on gross win.”

“ABLGI and LRWC have agreed to amend their previous agreements because of the changes in the development guidelines issued by the Pagcor on July 18, 2011, which effectively and materially changed the terms and conditions of the Provisional License granted to the SM Consortium in December 2008,” a company statement said. Pagcor is the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Belle casino project is an integrated resort complex and casino that will rise in the Pagcor Entertainment City in Parañaque City by next year.

In the previous week, Belle Corp. partnered with Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MCE), a company listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, for the development and operation of the aforementioned project.

Belle Corp., together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, PLAI, formally entered into a cooperation agreement with MCE for cooperation in the development of the casino and resort project.

MCE, a developer and owner of integrated resort facilities focused on the Macau market, has an operating complex known as the “City of Dreams,” which is a highly successful project that houses a gaming facility, a Crown Hotel, a Grand Hyatt Hotel, a Hard Rock Hotel and an upscale retail operation, along with a mix of bars and restaurants that are drawing crowds mainly from Hong Kong and China. It is based in Macau.

MCE is also building its second integrated resort in Macau called “Studio City.”

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Ayala Center undergoes P28.5-B redevelopment

Published on 30 October 2012 [ manilatimes.net ]

Written by MADELAINE B. MIRAFLOR REPORTER

Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) announced on Monday that it is redeveloping the Ayala Center in Makati City at a cost of P28.5 billion.

According to ALI officials, the P28.5-billion redevelopment of the Glorietta Mall and the surrounding vicinity will make it into an even more vibrant mixed-use center with three new hotels, new office towers and various residential projects that will be formally launched in the last quarter of this year.

“As we pursue our growth strategy with the development of other business districts in Metro Manila and across the country, we will continue to enhance Makati so it maintains its place as the premiere destination in the Philippines,” said Ayala Land President and Chief Executive Officer Antonino Aquino.

He also said that “this is the most ambitious program that Ayala land has done.”

The redevelopment includes the addition of two business process outsourcing (BPO) office towers with a gross floor area of 50,000 square meters and the opening of three hotels, namely the Holiday Inn & Suites, Fairmont Makati, and Raffles Makati, and new residential towers, the Garden Towers and Raffles Residences.

Aquino said that ALI is convinced by the development of the BPO sector in the country, which is why they are willing to show an active presence in that sector.

The Glorietta, meanwhile, will have a total of 864 outlets and a re-energized Activity Center for different events. Its redevelopment was pegged at P3.1 billion while the office towers it hosts were built at a cost of P1.9 billion.

ALI will also launch Garden Towers, a two-tower residential development which will be ready for turnover in 2019. According to ALI Senior Vice President Bobby Dy, tower one of Garden Towers has a project value of P3 billion and would sell at P175,000 per square meter.

Two of three hotels in the Glorietta hub, on the other hand, will open this December to affluent business and leisure travelers. The 280-room Fairmont Hotel and the 32-room Raffles Makati all-suite hotel are the newest luxury accommodations to be built in the last two decades in Makati City.

By April 2013, the 348-room Holiday Inn and Suites Makati, one of the most recognized brands globally, will be officially opened.

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