FDC sets capex at P38B

Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp. has allocated P38 billion for capital expenditures this year, mainly to finance its real estate ventures.

In a statement on Friday, FDC president and chief executive Josephine Gotianun-Yap said the company is “investing for medium-term growth,” after consolidated gross revenues rose 17 percent to P34.8 billion and net income grew 11 percent to P6.5 billion last year.

Two-thirds of this year’s capex or about P25 billion would be spent on projects of subsidiaries Filinvest Land Inc. and Filinvest Alabang Inc. According to FDC, a “more significant portion” of the capex “will be used for recurring income investment properties, while the balance will be for trading assets, with a portion to be used for land banking.”

Allotted P9 billion was the construction of FDC Utilities Inc.’s 405-megawatt (MW) power plant in Misamis Oriental. This coal-fired facility is poised to be the biggest plant in Mindanao when operations start in 2016.

The remaining P4 billion will be infused into its banking, hotel and sugar businesses.

For EastWest Bank, capex will used to expand its branch network to 400 by yearend from 376 at present.

“EastWest Bank is expected to see its network become more mature and productive as it is already at the apex of its aggressive store expansion program in 2014,” Gotianun-Yap said.

As for the subsidiary FDC Hotels Inc., capex will go to the ongoing development of the 192-key, five-star Crimson Resort and Spa in Boracay.

“These investments will drive earnings growth for the next five years,” Gotianun-Yap said.