Posted on October 18, 2012 10:42:15 PM
[ BusinessWorld Online ]
DEVELOPER EMPIRE East Land Holdings,
Inc. has raised P2.695 billion from its recently concluded stock rights offer
and also earned the corporate regulator’s approval to hike the its authorized
capital stock by an additional P10 billion to cover the said rights offer, a
disclosure by Empire East to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed
yesterday.
“Empire East has completed its 1:4
stock rights offering following the close of the offering period on Oct. 12.
All of the 2,695,239,834 offered shares were subscribed at the offer price of
P1 per share and will be listed on the PSE,” the disclosure read.
From Oct. 8-12, Empire East offered
one new share for every four shares held by existing shareholders.
Proceeds form the offer, which reached
P2.695 billion, will be allotted for capital and project expenditures, Empire
East said.
The shares that were offered came from
the P10-billion increase in Empire East’s authorized capital stock, which was
approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, the
disclosure added.
Following the stock rights offer,
Empire East will now have a total of 13,476,199,167 issued and outstanding
common shares, and an authorized capital stock of P33.495 billion consisting of
31.495 billion common shares and two billion preferred shares.
Empire East, a former division of
listed Megaworld Corp., was incorporated in 1994 and was formerly known as
Megaworld’s Community Housing Division, according to data posted on the PSE Web
site.
It is currently engaged in the
development of mid-rise to high-rise residential condominiums in Metro Manila
and single-detached homes in progressive suburban areas, and claims to be a
pioneer of residential developments near Metro Manila’s mass transit lines,
according to the company’s 2011 annual report.
For 2012, Empire East expects to
complete two projects, namely tower one of Pioneer Woodlands (a six-tower,
transit-oriented project on the corner of Pioneer Street and EDSA in
Mandaluyong City) and the tower one of Little Baguio Terraces (a four-tower
development on Aurora Boulevard in San Juan City), Company President Anthony
Charlemagne C. Yu said last June.
Last July, Empire East inked a joint
venture with the Japan-based Okada Group for the development of a P45-billion
upscale condominium complex in the Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City,
firming up the company’s foray into luxury property development, according to
reports published that month.
The company also bid last August for
the right to develop of 74 hectares of the state-owned Food Terminal, Inc.
(FTI) agri-industrial complex in Taguig City, losing out, however, to rival
Ayala Land, Inc. Ayala Land submitted an offer of P24.331 billion for FTI,
dwarfing Empire East’s bid of P10.2 billion.
Empire East grew its first half net
income by 36.65% to P66.29 million this year, versus P48.51 million, year on
year, due to higher real estate sales and finance income booked in the period.
First-semester consolidated revenues,
derived from real estate sales, finance income, commissions, and other
revenues, rose by 21% to P1.15 billion for the first half of this year from
P954.71 million in the same period last year.
Shares of Empire East surged by 4.55%
or four centavos to 92 centavos yesterday from 88 centavos last Wednesday. --
Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente
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