Aboitiz eyes P2.7B in sale of treasury shares

Screengrab from www.aboitiz.com

Power and banking conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. is raising more funds through the sale of up to 50 million treasury shares to bolster its cash reserves.

A stock exchange filing on Friday showed that Aboitiz Equity’s board approved a plan to sell the shares, almost 29 percent of its total treasury shares, at prevailing market value.

Aboitiz Equity shares dipped 1.25 percent to P54.75 apiece as the broader Philippine Stock Exchange index declined 0.7 percent.

At that price, the planned treasury sale may be valued as much as P2.7 billion.

Aboitiz Equity will be left with about 123 million treasury shares, assuming it sells the entire amount, based on the company’s regulatory filing.

It said the board allowed the sale of shares in tranches.

The company, which derives about 75 percent of its earnings from the power business, earlier earmarked P88 billion, to build more generating capacity. It also owns Union Bank of the Philippines, one of the country’s biggest banks, Aboitiz Land Inc. and Pilmico Foods Corp.

Aboitiz Equity has also been expanding to new business lines. Last June, it made the top offer with Ayala Corp. for the P35.4-billion Cavite Laguna Expressway public private partnership deal. The project has yet to be awarded as President Aquino is still mulling over the request of San Miguel Corp., which has already been disqualified from the deal.

Aboitiz Equity said net income in the first half of 2014 declined 20 percent to P9.49 billion. It said power accounted for 74 percent in terms of income contribution, followed by banking (17 percent), food (7 percent) and real estate ( 2 percent).

Without nonrecurring items, the company said core net income during the period would have amounted to P8.7 billion, down 26 percent.

It said revenues during the period rose almost 40 percent to P54.33 billion. Miguel R. Camus and Amy R. Remo