Landco still bullish despite looming ownership shake-up

Amid possible changes in its ownership, Landco Pacific Corp. remains optimistic on the prospects of growth given its record of highly- successful residential-leisure-tourism projects.

In a joint statement issued yesterday, Landco’s major shareholders – Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and AB Holdings Corp. (ABHC) of the family of businessman Alfred Xerez-Burgos – said Landco is on track to meeting its income and sales targets this year even as it may undergo a change in ownership pending completion of the audit by ABHC.

MPIC owns 51 percent of Landco while the remaining 49 percent is held by ABHC and the Xerez-Burgos family.

The results of the audit will enable ABHC to decide whether or not to acquire MPIC’s stake in Landco. The audit is expected to be completed on or before October 15 this year.

Should ABHC fail to inform MPIC of its decision by the end of November this year, MPIC shall acquire all the shareholdings of ABHC and Burgos in Landco, enabling the property firm to be more competitive in the industry, further boosting its cash flow.

Reflecting its confidence in Lando, MPIC recently extended a P500-million loan facility to the property development firm in order to fast-track the completion of some projects.

 “At this point, MPIC is just rationalizing its investment in Landco given the size of its investment portfolio including infrastructure, utilities and healthcare,” said MPIC president Jose Ma. Lim.

Lim said the capital infusion is in line with MPIC’s desire to build up Landco as a major real estate player or otherwise divest its stake should ABHC decide to buy MPIC’s holdings.

To ensure stability and continuity of the business, Landco’s existing management team, including Xerez-Burgos, will remain.

In the first half this year, Landco reported a core net income of P17.9 million, down 82 percent from the previous level, due to the 21 percent decline in recognized revenue from real estate sales sold.