[ bworldonline.com ]
AYALA Land Inc (ALI) said that it set a capital expediture
(capex) budget of P130 billion this year, up from P110.1 billion a year
earlier with the largest portion of the capex funding its residential
projects.
In a briefing in Makati City on Friday, ALI Chief Financial Officer
(CFO) Augusto Cesar D. Bengzon said that about 40% will go to
residential development, 20% to 25% to its leasing business, and the
remainder deployed for land acquisition.
The capex budget will be funded by bank debts and bond issues, for
which the company will file a P50 billion shelf registration application
to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Bengzon said.
“We will be going up to the board for a P50 billion shelf
registration in the next twe weeks… The shelf registration is good for a
three-year period,” Mr. Bengzon said.
ALI President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bernard Vincent O. Dy
said the bulk of the projects “will be primarily in Metro Manila, the
Greater Manila Area, Region 4-A, and the VisMin region.”
“The plan is to launch two estates this year. One in Tarlac, one in
Batangas,” Mr. Dy said, also noting that “we continue to look for new
opportunities within the region.”
Mr. Dy also said for the projects in its pipeline, it is is
increasing the number of beds in ALI’s dormitory-type project The Flats
by 3,545 beds — with 1,145 to be located in the Bonifacio Global City
Parkway area and 2,400 in Circuit Makati — on top of its current 2,228
total beds in Amorsolo, Makati and BGC 5th Avenue.
Also in the pipeline are the addition of 3,968 square meters of gross
leasable area (GLA), equivalent to 898 seats, to its co-working space
business Clock In which currently has 433 seats.
ALI reported that net profit in 2018 rose 16% to P29.2 billion,
citing increased demand for residential and commercial space as well as
lease for BPO offices.
“We introduced two new estates to bring our total to 26, registered
the highest level of residential sales in our history, and stayed on
track to open more commercial developments. These led to strong
financial results and positioned our company for continued growth in the
coming years,” Mr. Dy said in a statement.
Consolidated revenue hit P166.25 billion in 2018, up 17%.
In 2018, the company’s capex budget was P110.1 billion, with 41%
going to residential projects, 12% to malls, 6% to offices, 5% to hotels
and resorts, 15% to land acquisition, 12% to estate development, and 9%
to take stakes in Prime Orion Philippines Inc (POPI) and MCT Bhd.
Mr. Dy said that the company set a net profit target of P40 billion by 2020.
“This is now within striking distance. Hopefully the economy will continue to be supportive,” Mr. Dy saud during the briefing.
“We now need to grow by 17% a year, [starting] in 2019,” according to Mr. Dy.
On Friday, ALI closed at P44.50, down 1.11%. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
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