|
Filinvest Land, Inc. will be buying back its shares
to bridge the gaping difference between its current share price and
net asset value, the company told the Philippine Stock Exchange on
Friday.
The real property developer said
its board has approved the immediate buy-back to correct the “very
large discrepancy” between the company’s current share price and
the net asset value of FLI.
“Management believes that the
company’s shares are currently being undervalued by the market,
and the share buyback program will enhance shareholder value,” it
said.
FLI will buy shares worth P1.5
billion at prevailing market price within the next 12 months,
subject to periodic review by management.
At end-September, FLI’s net
profits for the first nine months surged by 96 percent to P1.3
billion or almost double from last year’s level as revenues
generated by real estate sales grew 32 percent to P2.3 billion. The
company’s financial standing improved on strong sales take-up of
its residential projects and bigger rental income from Filinvest
Supermall and its office buildings in Northgate Cyberzone, which
currently has eight buildings fully leased out to business process
outsourcing firms
Additionally, FLI’s expansion
to the provinces of Tarlac, Pampanga, Davao and Cebu further
strengthened residential sales as shown by the demand in these
areas.
During the same period, total
assets rose by 10 percent to P44.9 billion as the company reduced
its long-term debt by more than half or 55.7 percent to P3.1 billion
by paying off its obligations using funds from the follow-on
offering during the first quarter.
For next year, the company has
earmarked P6 billion for its projects that include its first
mid-rise condominium in Ortigas called One Oasis Ortigas and two
other mid-rise condominiums within Metro Manila, all of which will
be launched next year
The company also plans to finish
four more buildings in Alabang that would have an aggregate gross
leasable area of 59,000 sq m. It would also be starting the
residential projects like West Palms in Palawan, La Costanera in
Cebu and its first mid-rise condominium in Davao.
--Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
|
