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Friday, November 9, 2012

Stock News 2012: MPIC net income up 22% in Q3

Photo of Manny
Photo of Manny (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The strong performance of all its operating units allowed Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) to grow its earnings by more than a fifth in the third quarter.

In a statement, MPIC said its core net income, which strips out currency and derivatives-related items, gained 22 percent to P1.6 billion in July to September from P1.3 billion a year ago.

As a result, the infrastructure conglomerate reported a core profit of P5.03 billion in January to September up 27 percent from P3.95 billion last year.

“All our businesses achieved strong growth in profitability for the first nine months of the year. We are well placed for a strong 2012 as a whole,” said MPIC president and CEO Jose Ma. Lim.

“The strong results for the nine months to September reflect significant service level improvements and efficiency gains for all our operating companies,” said MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

Pangilinan said the company is maintaining its full-year core earnings outlook at P6.3 billion, which is 23 percent higher from P5.1 billion last year, as MPIC expects to book P1.3 billion in earnings in the fourth quarter.

In the nine-month period, MPIC’s reported net income surged 45 percent to P4.99 billion from P3.44 billion a year ago.

Consolidated revenues rose 28 percent to P20.54 billion from P16.06 billion.

“The rise in core income is mainly due to higher profit contributions from Manila Electric Co. reflecting increased volumes of power sold,” MPIC said.

Higher billed volumes were also recorded for Maynilad Water Services Inc. while Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) enjoyed increased traffic growth and interest and expense savings.

MPIC said the hospital group, the country’s largest private chain composed of six hospitals, benefited from investments last year.

The infrastructure firm is training its eyes overseas given its current expertise.


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Thursday, November 8, 2012

Stock News 2012: ALI earnings rise 27%

English: Venus Raj at "The GOOD Run"...
English: Venus Raj at "The GOOD Run" event in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) maintained its robust earnings growth, recording close to a 30-percent uptick in January to September profits on the back of strong performance of all its business segments.

In a disclosure, to the stock exchange, ALI said its earnings in the nine-month period hit P6.62 billion, up 27 percent from P5.23 billion a year ago “on the back of the strong performance and margin improvement achieved by all of the company’s major business lines.”

Consolidated revenues jumped 20 percent to P39.01 billion from P32.63 billion last year.

Specifically, revenues from real estate and hotels, which accounted for the bulk of total revenues, climbed a fifth to P36.89 billion.

ALI said its net income margin also improved, rising to 20 percent from 18 percent year-on-year.

“We are midway into our 5-10-15 plan and we continue to progress very well, and this is reflected in our results over the first nine months of the year,” said ALI chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael.

“Average monthly sales take-up remains very robust and margin improvement is steady for all business lines,” Ysmael said.

ALI is in the thick of its so-called 5-10-15 plan, which targets P10 billion after-tax income and a return on equity of 15 percent in five years ending 2014.

Ysmael said the property firm has spent 94 percent its full-year programmed capital expenditures, with a number of projects still to be launched late this year.

ALI has earmarked P37 billion for its capital spending this year – its highest capital expenditures ever – mostly to go to residential projects, followed by shopping centers and hotels.

The property development segment, composed of the sale of residential units and industrial lots, grew its revenues 27 percent to P23.91 billion in the nine-month period from P18.8 billion a year ago.

Revenues from the residential segment reached P22.32 billion, up 27 percent from last year, driven by strong sales and continued construction of projects across all residential brands.

ALI said sales take-up in the nine-month period hit P57.85 billion, equivalent to an average monthly sales take-up of P6.43 billion, surging by half from P4.31 billion last year.

So far, ALI’s four residential brands launched a total of 13,057 units.

Revenues from the sale of commercial and industrial lots rose 26 percent to P1.59 billion in the nine-month period due to the sale commercial lots in Nuvali in Laguna and Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

For commercial leasing, ALI said its revenues climbed19 percent to P6.34 billion from P5.33 billion recorded in same period last year.


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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Stock News 2012: Huge downpayment, regulatory approvals scuttle GMA-PLDT deal


GMA Network reportedly demanded billions of pesos paid once a memorandum of understanding (MOU) is signed with the group of Manuel V. Pangilinan, whether or not the latter’s bid to acquire the private stake in the broadcasting company pushes through.

This, as well as other non-monetary demands, led Pangilinan’s group to no longer pursue its quest to purchase the over 70 percent stake held by the Gozon, Jimenez, and Duavit families in GMA, The STAR learned.

Sources revealed that the billions of pesos in fees, which is on top of the reportedly over P50 billion purchase price, was to paid after the MOA is signed and before the closure of the deal. Other requirements prior to closure include securing all the necessary government and regulatory licenses and approvals, all to be secured by the PLDT Group.

Without GMA help, securing the necessary licenses and approvals will not be easy, a source said.

It was not immediately known why the owners of GMA wanted the inclusion of the provision on the “fee” in the discussions when during the Pangilinan’s group’s first attempt to takeover GMA, there was no such demand.

Sources privy to the recently failed negotiations revealed that Pangilinan’s group felt that the owners of GMA were just not interested to sell. “This was not something an interested seller would ask for,” a highly placed source said.

When the two parties jointly announced early last month that the discussions are no longer pushing through, they said that it was not about the purchase price.

The acquisition of GMA by PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund unit Mediaquest was supposed to be part of Pangilinan’s aim for the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) to transform into a multi-media company. The group owns minority stakes in The Philippine STAR, Philippine Daily Inquirer and Business World, and controlling interests in TV5 and Cignal, a direct-to-home (DTH) satellite company.

The acquisition of GMA, STAR sources revealed, augurs well with plans of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co., which controls PLDT, to have a regional presence in the broadcasting field.

Pangilinan earlier said he is in talks with Anthoni Salim, chairman and controlling shareholder of First Pacific, to acquire Salim’s Indonesia-based TV station.

It was also learned that First Pacific is also eyeing a TV network in Vietnam.

In 2001, PLDT engaged in talks with the owners of GMA, but negotiations bogged down over issues encountered by the prospective buyer.

“2001, if I recall correctly was P14 billion (amount being offered for GMA). It’s just that Home Cable came ahead of GMA by a few months. In 2001 and 2002, PLDT was not in good shape. If GMA came in first, I think we would have chosen GMA. But that’s fate,” Pangilinan earlier said.


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Monday, November 5, 2012

Stock News 2012: ALI pushes P20-B entertainment complex

Makati Skyline, Philippines
Makati Skyline, Philippines (Photo credit: ibarra_svd)

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. is going full throttle to transform Makati City into the nation’s premiere financial and entertainment district with the development of the Philippine Racing Club Inc.’s former race track in Sta. Ana into a P20-billion entertainment complex.

The project forms part of ALI’s P60-billion investment plan for six major districts in Makati for the next 10 years.

The property, said to be the last big piece of property in Makati, will be converted into a township with recreational, entertainment, commercial, retail, office, residential and even hotel facilities.

“We will be launching this in two weeks and will be able to give budget details then,” said Antonino T. Aquino, president of ALI.

PRCI will contribute to the joint venture its entire 21-hectare property, which used to be the site of its horse-racing operations until 2008. The property is located along the inner portion of Pasong Tamo in Makati City.

ALI, on the other hand, will undertake the development of the large-scale project, which could take 10 years to complete.

PRCI and ALI will share in the revenues to be generated from the project, which will sell residential units as well as lease out office and commercial space.

Six years ago, ALI also partnered with with Manila Jockey Club to develop the latter’s former San Lazaro racetrack area in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

ALI has been aggressively expanding its property investments, having launched several projects this year.

In Makati alone, the company has committed to invest around P60 billion in six distinct and complementary districts – Makati North (young and creative), Makati central business district (business), Ayala Triangle Gardens (urban oasis), Makati South (transport hub), and Sta.Ana (Makati’s entertainment district) covering a total of 70 hectares.    

In Quezon City, ALI will build a P65-billion new central business district hub in the North Triangle area over a 10-year period. Dubbed Ventris North, the project will include office and residential towers, commercial buildings and recreational facilities.


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Sunday, November 4, 2012

Stock News 2012: SM Purefoods to raise $400M from overseas equity offering

B-Meg Llamados
B-Meg Llamados (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Local food giant San Miguel Pure Foods Co. Inc. (SMPF) is hoping to raise as much as $400 million from an overseas equity offering to widen  its public float.

Sources said SMPF, which is hard pressed to meet a stock exchange ruling that requires listed firms to have a minimum public ownership of 10 percent,  intends to start accepting orders from institutional and retail investors beginning Nov. 12.  Its public float currently stands at 0.08 percent.

The company has reportedly tapped UBS AG, Standard Chartered and Malayan Banking Bhd., as financial advisors.

SMPF is one of three units of diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. with public ownership of less than 10 percent.  The two others include San Miguel Brewery Inc. and San Miguel Properties with a public float of 0.61 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively.

The stock was last traded on Sept.4, at P900 each share.

Listed companies that fail to meet the mandated 10-percent public float by the end of December face trading suspension for up to six months, by the first trading day of 2013.  Aside from this, errant companies must still pay listing fees while they are suspended.

After the lapse of the suspension period, they will automatically be delisted from the local bourse unless they have by then complied with the requirement.

During the trading suspension, sale of shares may be effected only outside the trading system of the PSE and the transactions will be subject to a capital gains tax of between five and 10 percent.

With the deadline for listed firms’ compliance with the minimum public float requirement nearing, Purefoods has reportedly embarked on a road show to drum up support for its planned share sale.  The company is looking to boost its public float  to as much as 25 percent.

The share sale comes at a good time time when investor confidence in the country’s economy continues to soar amid steady remittances from Filipinos working overseas, record low interest rates,  strong domestic consumption, a manageable inflation and  recovery of electronics exports.


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Saturday, November 3, 2012

Stock News 2012: ALI, SM Prime win real estate awards

SM Prime Holdings
SM Prime Holdings (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ayala Land Inc. and SM Prime Holdings, Inc have been recognised for their high standards by the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA) in the APREA Best Practices Awards 2012.

The APREA Best Practices Awards are open to all real estate companies and trusts listed on a regional stock exchange. As with previous years, there has been overwhelming response from high-quality organizations from countries around the region, including Australia, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines. In all, organizations from nine different jurisdictions lodged submissions.

Winners were chosen based on how an organization has contributed to providing greater transparency and comparability in their local market and the region. Submissions were also judged on the extent of which they have adopted recommendations in the APREA Best Practices Handbook in the categories of market disclosures, accounting and financial reporting, property valuation, portfolio performance reporting and corporate governance.

Ayala Land won awards for the best Philippines submission and merit awards in the areas of market disclosure and portfolio performance reporting. It also won an award as the best property development organisation in the Emerging Markets category. SM Prime won a merit award in the area of corporate governance.

Lim Swe Guan, CFA, chairman of the board of APREA says, “We are delighted with the level of best practices demonstrated by the companies who submitted for the awards this year. We continually encourage members to adopt the most up-to-date valuation techniques, adhere to international financial reporting standards and follow good corporate governance. Combined with a greater transparency of portfolio performance and provision of reliable timely information to investors, we believe this will lead to higher investor confidence and wider support for the industry. We are confident that with the support of our members, who are leaders in their field, we can make real estate a crucial part of every investor’s portfolio.”

Peter Mitchell, chief executive officer of APREA said “We would like to extend our congratulations to Ayala Land and SM Prime Holdings as industry leaders in best practices. These awards are held annually to highlight the importance of the recommendations in APREA’s Best Practices Handbook, which has emerged as a clear benchmark for the region for managing and reporting performances since it was first published in 2009.”

APREA has developed best practices to streamline performance measurement and reporting for the real estate investment industry in the region. The APREA Best Practices Handbook, currently in its second edition, is intended to be a living document and will be regularly modified, updated and added to. It contains a series of recommendations for adoption by the industry in the following areas:

• Accounting and financial reporting guidelines

• Property valuation Corporate governance

• Portfolio performance reporting

• Market disclosures


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Friday, November 2, 2012

Stock News 2012: Aboitiz Equity nets P18 billion

English: A logo for the Union Bank of the Phil...
English: A logo for the Union Bank of the Philippines (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) posted a net income of P18 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 12 percent from P16 billion, mainly due to non-recurring gains and higher contributions from its power unit.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, AEV said it booked a non-recurring gain of P894 million during the period as a result of the revaluation of groupwide dollar-denominated liabilities and placements.

Power continued to be AEV’s main income driver, accounting for 78 percent of total earnings followed by the banking and food businesses with contributions of 17 percent and five percent, respectively.

In the third quarter alone, AEV chalked up a net income of P6.2 billion or an increase of seven percent from P5.8 billion.

Unit Aboitiz Power Corp. reported a net profit of P18.4 billion, 13 percent higher than the year earlier level.

Higher average selling prices and increased net generation resulted to a 12-percent hike in the power generation business’ earnings contribution to P13.2 billion.

AboitizPower sold 1,562 megawatts, up 12 percent due to increased capacity sales through bilateral contracts.

Expansions in volumes and margins resulted to a 25-percent rise in AboitizPower’s distribution group’s earnings to P1.7 billion. Total attributable electricity sales went up by six percent to 2,935 GWh as demand from all customer segments continued to grow with the industrial segment recording a seven-percent hike in volume sales.

The banking group contributed P3.1 billion to AEV’s total earnings, an improvement of 15 percent.

Union Bank of the Philippines chipped in P2.8 billion in earnings or an increase of 19 percent due to higher net interest income and hefty trading gains.

AEV’s non-listed thrift bank, City Savings Bank, Inc., however, reported a 12 percent drop in profit to P318 million, weighed down by higher expenses as a result of its ongoing expansion.

On the other hand, the company’s food unit, Pilmico Foods Corp. posted net earnings of P906 million, down from P937 million due to decreasing margins resulting from softer prices and an uptick in input costs for the feeds and swine divisions.

As of September 30, 2012, AEV’s total assets stood at P211 billion as against liabilities of P106.3 billion.

The company earlier approved a proposal to acquire 100 percent of affiliate Aboitiz Land, Inc. for P3.2 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed this month.

AboitizLand is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aboitiz and Company, Inc., and has been operating for close to two decades. It is one of the country’s most trusted Cebu real-estate developer with investments in residential, commercial, and industrial developments. Currently, AboitizLand is also the developer and operator of two economic zones, the Mactan Economic Zone II and the West Cebu Industrial Park in Balamban, Cebu.


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