PSE clears Sta. Lucia Land plan to sell new shares worth P9.87B
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has approved the re-initial public offering worth as much as P9.87 billion to be launched by property developer Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (SLI) next week.
In an offering circular issued by the PSE, the property developer will offer up to 2.5 billion primary common shares, which can be upsized by 500 million additional shares, on Nov. 11 to 17.
The offer price, which will be within the P2.38 to P3.29 range per share, will be finalized on Nov. 5. Tentative listing of the new shares on the PSE is scheduled for Nov. 26.
This equity deal will bring SLI’s public float to as much as 40.14 percent.
China Bank Capital Corp. is the sole issue manager, lead underwriter and book runner for this issuance.
Net proceeds will be used to finance capital outlays for new and ongoing projects, payment of short-term debt, strategic land banking and general corporate purposes.
Led by the group of businessman Exequiel Robles, SLI became a public company through a backdoor-listing in 2007.
SLI has a total of 115 ongoing projects, 60 of which are located in the high-growth area of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon. It also has 25 projects in Davao while the rest are spread out in seven other regions. It also owns and operates Sta. Lucia Mall in Cainta, Rizal.
Most of its housing projects are located at the outskirts of major central business districts and major growth centers, thereby offering bigger space and more affordable pricing. Its clients include families, overseas Filipino workers, foreign investors, retirees, young urban professionals, and newly married couples.
In the first six months, SLI’s net profit amounted to about P1.44 billion, improving by 90 percent year-on-year. The increase was due to the 63-percent year-on-year improvement in revenues to P3.9 billion while lower tax expense under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises law partially offset the increase in cost and operating expenses.
Gross rental income from the mall business increased by 21 percent year-on-year to P273 million as quarantine conditions partially eased up in the first six months of the year.
Revenues from real estate sales likewise rose to P3.26 billion in the first six months from P1.99 billion in the previous year.
