CLI to buy back P250M worth of shares
CEBU LANDMASTERS, Inc. (CLI) is allotting P250 million to buy back its shares, almost nine months after the company joined the Philippine Stock Exchange.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the listed property developer said the share buyback program will be executed over a period of 24 months, banking on the sustained growth it expects in the coming years.
“Our growth has been exceptional and we have a strong pipeline of VisMin ( Visayas and Mindanao) projects where real estate demand remains high. CLI is well positioned to deliver outstanding shareholder value,” CLI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jose R. Soberano III was quoted as saying in a statement.
Companies launch a share buyback program when they believe their shares are undervalued. The exercise reduces the number of outstanding shares, effectively increasing earnings per share and elevating the market value of the remaining stocks.
Shares in CLI have been trading at an average of P4.69 apiece, 7.5% lower than its offer price of P5 each when it conducted an initial public offering in June 2017. CLI shares hit a high of P5.98 apiece on June 22, 2017, while it fell to a record low of P4.21 on Feb. 23.
On Tuesday, shares in the company were unchanged at P4.70 each.
The share buyback program will further allow the company to build up treasury shares to be used for its employee stock option plan.
“We are confident that offering stock options will allow us to retain and to attract the best talents,” Mr. Soberano said.
Alongside the share buyback program, CLI also announced that it will be giving out a regular cash dividend of 15 centavos per share on April 23.
CLI expects to breach its P1.2billion net income target for 2017, as reservation sales surged 55% to P4.58 billion.
For the first nine months of 2017, its attributable profit stood at P960 million, up 77% year on year as revenues also climbed 67% to P2.77 billion for the period.
The Cebu- based developer currently has 46 developments in seven key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao region, consisting of 17,187 units in various stages of construction. Of this, 45% are residential condominiums, 22% are residential subdivisions, 22% are office and retail projects, while the remaining 11% are in the hospitality sector.
CLI expects to launch 20 more projects this year, including the first central business district in Davao City. —