ALI completes P5.4-B Avida infusion

MANILA, Philippines - Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is completing its P5.4-billion capital infusion to its affordable housing unit Avida Land Corp.

Fresh capital will allow Avida Land to increase its land bank in various areas nationwide, the company said in a disclosure.

ALI’s board of directors approved the management’s plan to contribute another P1.1 billion to Avida Land that will support “various land acquisitions in key growth areas,” the property giant said.

Prior equity infusions of P2.3 billion and P2 billion were approved by ALI’s board of directors in May 2011 and May 2012, respectively.

Aside from fresh funding from its parent firm, Avida Land will also be supported by a P3-billion bond issuance this year.

Avida Land will introduce to the market 10,000 residential units from 29 projects this year, higher than the 8,000 units in 19 projects in 2012.

In the first half, Avida Land posted a 45 percent revenue growth to P5.24 billion on the back of strong bookings of new projects like the Avida Towers 3 and 4, Avida Cityflex BGC Tower 2, Avida Towers Vita, and Avida Riala Towers 1 and 2.

In the same disclosure, ALI said its board of directors also approved the declaration of a P2.03-billion cash dividend.

Specifically, the property firm will distribute a cash dividend of P0.1434 per common share to stockholders as of Sept. 6, payable on Sept. 20.

“This regular cash dividend for the second semester ending Dec. 31, 2013 reflects a 38 percent increase from (previous) year’s second half regular cash dividend of P0.1038 per share,” ALI said.

It will also bring up the company’s dividend payout to 45 percent of prior year’s earnings, it added.

ALI is operating under five major brands – Ayala Land Premier for the upscale segment, Alveo Land for the upper and middle-income segment, Avida Land and Amaia Land for economic housing and BellaVita for socialized housing.

In the first half, profits of the property arm of the Ayala conglomerate surged 30 percent to P5.62 billion from P4.33 billion last year, while consolidated revenues spiked 36 percent to P36.63 billion from P27 billion a year ago.

The income growth was driven by the strong performance of its property development, commercial leasing and construction businesses.