Sta. Lucia beefs up land bank in Davao, Zambales

STA. LUCIA Land, Inc. (SLI) continues to expand its land bank with the planned acquisition of more than 100,000 square meters (sq.m.) of land in provincial areas.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, the listed property developer said its board of directors has authorized the firm to acquire parcels of land spanning 74,490 sq.m. in Davao; 35,588 sq.m. in Zambales, 917 sq.m. in Rizal, and 450 sq.m. in Batangas.

The board likewise authorized its entry into joint venture deals for the development of a project in Rizal covering 45,649 sq.m., as well as a project in Davao sized 221,973 sq.m.

SLI has been ramping up project launches this year to expand its residential and commercial properties in the country. It will be spending P20 billion over the next three years to support this expansion.

The company has lined up the launch of 28 residential and commercial projects over the period, as well as five condominium and hotel developments that could fetch about P20 billion in sales.

SLI in August filed an application to conduct a follow-on offering worth up to P8.40 billion, in order to finance its capital spending. It will offer a total of up to three billion common shares, consisting of 2.7 billion primary offer shares and 300 million shares for the over-allotment option.

Shares will be priced within the range of P2.26 to P2.80. If approved, the price will be finalized on Nov. 12, while the offer will run from Nov. 18 to 29. The shares will then be listed at the stock exchange on Dec. 9, after which SLI’s public float will rise to 26.79%.

Bulk of the proceeds will go to capex of new and ongoing projects. About P820 million will be for landbanking purposes, while P518 million will be spent for general corporate purposes.

SLI hired China Bank Capital Corp. to be the transaction’s issue manager, underwriter, and bookrunner.

SLI’s net income attributable to the parent more than doubled to P883.74 million in the first half of 2019, after gross revenues likewise surged 70% to P3.496 billion.

Shares in SLI dropped 0.71% or two centavos to close at P2.78 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia