Swift sells assets worth P214.76 M

MANILA, Philippines - Swift Foods Inc. has approved the sale of two parcels of land as well as 16 buildings and some equipment for P214.76 million.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Swift  said the land located in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, were leased to its former grower and are not being used in the company’s operations.

The purchase price  was determined based on the market price for similar properties, Swift Foods said.

The move is in line with the company’s efforts to pare down debt.  It also followed the sale of three parcels of land located in Pasig City for P266.93 million.

Swift earlier said it planned to  sell its remaining operating branch and other properties within the next 12 months to pare down debt.

Only the Palawan branch remains to be the only company-operated facility.

Swift said its primary concern is to pay off obligations through the sale of assets. Aside from this, the company also intends to significantly trim the number of its employees when the remaining branch is sold.

The company  is primarily organized into two business divisions: agribusiness (poultry and feeds) and meat (meat processing and sales & distribution) divisions.  Its agribusiness division produces and sells poultry products: live and dressed/ processed chicken.

Swift’s poultry production involves four processes: breeding, hatching, broiler growing operations and dressing/processing operations   

Last March, Swift raised around P500 million from the sale of three parcels of land on Sheridan St. in Mandaluyong City to DMCI Project Developers Inc.  The properties, which had a total area of 11,116 square meters, were sold at P45,000 per square meter.