FDC seeks to secure P8 billion from preferred share sale

FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) will raise up to P8 billion from a preferred share offering as it gears up for expansion across its businesses.

In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, the Gotianun-led conglomerate said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had issued a certification indicating that FDC had complied with its rules on offering preferred shares. FDC still has to secure a separate permit to sell.

According to FDC, the offer will consist of up to 6 million preferred shares, while another 2 million shares would be put out in case of high demand. The offer will have a maximum price of P1,000 each.

Holders of preferred shares are not given voting rights, although they are prioritized during dividend payouts.

FDC, which has businesses in banking, power, real estate and hospitality, said proceeds would be used to repay existing debt, fund capital expenditures and also for general corporate purposes. The company has yet to disclose other details, including the timeline of the offer and dividend rates.

The conglomerate’s preferred share offering comes after it posted a strong first quarter, with earnings surging by 25 percent to P3.6 billion.

Total revenues rose by 11 percent to P29.3 billion, driven by growth from nearly all business units.

READ: Filinvest Development profit reaches P3.6B, up 25%

Sustaining momentum

FDC president and CEO Rhoda Huang said they were looking to sustain this momentum for the rest of the year despite “emerging challenges in some business segments.”

This year, FDC will earmark P24 billion in capital expenditures to fund the expansion of its business units. This represents a 20-percent increase from their P20-billion spending in 2024.

Of the total, 47 percent, or P11.28 billion, will go to the expansion of Filinvest Land Inc. and Filinvest Alabang. Around 40 percent, or P9.6 billion, will be spent on FDC’s other segments.

READ: Filinvest group pushing to keep growth momentum amid headwinds

The remaining P3.12 billion will be set aside for FDC’s digitalization efforts and “investments into the shares services organization, which is really going to drive the operational efficiencies group-wide,” according to FDC chief financial officer Ven Guce.