Ayala seeks regulators nod for bond float
Conglomerate ayala Corp. on tuesday said it has submitted the shelf registration statement for the sale of bonds worth P30 billion, of which some P10 billion will be immediately sold to the market.
In its disclosure, the conglomerate said it has submitted the documents for the bond float to the Securities and exchange Commission (SEC).
the first tranche consists of P6 billion with an oversubscription option of up to an additional P4 billion series a bonds due 2024 and series B bonds due 2026.
the company said it also secured the highest rating, with a minimal risk on the first tranche of its debt from a local credit rating agency.
the company said earlier its attributable income last year was cut in half to P17.14 billion from the previous year’s P35.27 billion as most of its business underperformed.
revenues were down 25 percent to P219.92 billion from the previous year’s P295.26 billion.
“our sequential growth in the fourth quarter reflects a recovery in consumer confidence that has started to show in the latter part of 2020. We expect this trajectory to continue and lead to a full economic revival by 2022 as mobility further improves and as the country executes on the vaccination rollout as planned,” company president and Coo Fernando Zobel de ayala said.
ayala said its income for the fourth quarter alone was at P5.8 billion, higher than the third quarter’s P3.4 billion. the fourth quarter figure, however, was still low since the company is earning between P7 billion to P8 billion per quarter.
“this year, the ayala group will continue to execute on its growth strategy and has allocated P196 billion in capital spending. a continued push for private sector investments would help revitalize the economy,” Zobel said.
of this year’s capital expenditures (capex), some P11.5 billion has been earmarked under the parent firm to support the emerging businesses in its portfolio.
In 2020, ayala has allocated some P275 billion in group capex, but only spent some P152 billion.