US mutual fund ups stake in Robinsons Land

MANILA, Philippines -- Smallcap World Fund, a member of America’s third largest mutual fund group, has acquired additional shares in Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), bringing its total shareholdings in the Gokongwei-owned property firm to over five percent.

In a report filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange, Smallcap said it purchased two million shares on Jan. 16, at an average price of P4.9691 per share.

Los Angeles-based Smallcap now owns 137.93 million shares in RLC.

Smallcap seeks long-term growth of capital through investments in smaller companies in the United States and around the world. It is one of the 29 mutual funds in The American Funds Group, the nation’s third-largest mutual fund family.

For nearly seven decades, Capital Research and Management Co., the American Funds adviser, has invested with a long-term focus based on thorough research and attention to risk.

RLC reported a 29 percent jump in net profit for its fiscal year ending September 2008 to P3.15 billion, on higher operating lease revenues and sales. Consolidated revenues improved 26 percent to P11.18 billion as sales from lease operations expanded 35 percent.

RLC’s commercial centers division contributed P3.7 billion or 33 percent while its high-rise division accounted for 50.44 percent or P5.64 billion of the company’s gross revenues.

As of Sept. 30, 2008, RLC operated 21 shopping malls, comprising six malls in Metro Manila and 15 malls in other urban areas throughout the Philippines, and had another 13 projects that are in the planning and development stage scheduled for completion in the next two to three years.

Among the new malls in the pipeline are Robinsons Dumaguete, Tacloban, Gen. Santos, Cebu and San Nicolas in Ilocos.

The strong rental sales, however, were offset by flat revenue growth in RLC’s hotel operations and a drop in interest income.

The 2008 net income includes an extraordinary adjustment to reduce provision for deferred income tax amounting to about P300 million. The adjustment was necessitated by the reduction of the legislated corporate income tax rate starting January 2009 from 35 percent to 30 percent.