Filinvest raises capex to P38 B

MANILA, Philippines - The investment firm of the Gotianun family is raising its capital spending this year to support property development projects and its foray into the power generation business.

Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) expects its large investments in various sectors would allow the company to post higher earnings in the coming years, its top executive said yesterday.

The listed holding firm said it would invest P38 billion across all its businesses this year, higher than the earlier announced P33 billion and almost double the P20 billion it spent last year.

“With the continuing strength of the Philippine economy and the recent ratings upgrade, we are optimistic that these investments will sustain the growth of FDC,” said FDC president and CEO Josephine Gotianun-Yap.

“These investments will, in turn, drive earnings growth for the next five years,” she added.

Specifically, FDC allocated around P25 billion for the real estate business composed of subsidiary Filinvest Land Inc. and Filinvest Alabang Inc., the developer of the 244-hectare Filinvest City in Alabang.

“A more significant portion of the capital expenditures will be used for recurring income investment properties while the balance will be for trading assets with a portion to be used for landbanking,” FDC said.

The listed investment firm allotted P9 billion for the construction of FDC Utilities Inc.’s 405-megawatt (MW) power plant in Misamis Oriental that is scheduled to start operations in 2016.

The remainder of the capital allotment would be poured into the hotel, banking and sugar operations.

For instance, subsidiary FDC Hotels Inc. has started the construction of the 192-key, five-star Crimson Resort and Spa development in Boracay, while financial service arm EastWest Bank targets to end the year with 400 branches from the current 376 outlets.

FDC recorded lower earrings in the first quarter, weighed down by lower income contribution from the banking unit. Net income attributable to equity holders of the parent firm sank 27 percent to P701. 29 million from P966.34 million a year ago.

Total consolidated revenues and other income reached P9.05 billion in the first quarter, slightly higher than the P9.01 billion last year.