Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Holcim increases cement prices 6%

Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines — Listed cement manufacturer Holcim Philippines, Inc. Wednesday said it has adjusted its prices by 6% in Luzon effective last month largely due to high cost of coal.

This would translate to P10 increase in price per 40 kilogram bag of Holcim cement in Luzon, but Holcim said current prices per bag differ from area to area. Hardware stores are selling now at P190 to P200 per bag of cement. The other two big cement manufacturers Lafarge and Cemex, however, have not yet notified of any price adjustment.

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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

MPIC details plans for share sale gains

NEIL JEROME C. MORALES
BusinessWorld

METRO PACIFIC Investments Corp. (MPIC) plans to disburse the entire P8.64-billion proceeds from its recent share sale within the year, with spending eyed not just for toll roads in the company’s pipeline but also “new businesses not necessarily disclosed.”

On Friday, MPIC sold 2.4 billion shares to Metro Pacific Holdings and some “qualified buyers” at P3.60 apiece, 5% lower than the P3.79 closing price on Thursday.

The share sale had increased the total number of outstanding shares by roughly 5% and thus had caused Metro Pacific Holdings’ interest to drop to 56.54% of MPIC instead of 59.63%. Shareholdings of the public, inclusive of the investors to the offer, meanwhile increased by 3.1%.

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Saturday, July 9, 2011

San Miguel invites 5 banks for power unit IPO

Reuters/ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Corp. said on Friday it has invited three foreign and two local investment banks to assist in the public offer of its power arm within this year.

San Miguel has invited Goldman Sachs Group Inc., UBS AG, and Standard Chartered Bank, and local investment banks ATR Kim Eng and SB Capital Corp., a unit of Security Bank, to manage the planned initial public offering within this year, it said in a statement to the stock exchange.

San Miguel also clarified its unit SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. would be offering its shares to the public, not San Miguel Energy Corp., as it disclosed on Thursday.

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Cebu Pacific sees lower 2011 profit on fuel costs

Reuters/ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines - Budget carrier Cebu Air Inc. said on Thursday high fuel costs were hurting the airline industry, but the strength of Asian economies would support the growth of low-cost carriers (LCC) in the region.

Cebu Air, operator of the country's largest budget airline Cebu Pacific and a unit of conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc., expects a lower net profit this year compared to 2010's P6.9 billion on costlier fuel and lower passenger load, Chief Executive Lance Gokongwei said.

However, profit in the second quarter was likely to exceed its net income in January to March because the airline had raised its fuel surcharge in late March, he told reporters.

"2011 is proving to be a tough year for all airlines, particularly with the issue of rising fuel costs and increasing competition," Gokongwei told reporters.

First-quarter net income was P1.2 billion, down 23% from a year earlier.

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MPIC sells shares to fund tollway ventures

BusinessWorld

METRO PACIFIC Investments Corp. (MPIC) has raised P8.64 billion through a private placement for its toll road projects, the firm said in a disclosure on Friday.
The transaction involved 2.4 billion shares which were sold at P3.60 apiece, 5% lower than the P3.79 closing price on Thursday. The firm saw its shares end Friday at P3.60 per.

"This undertaking prepares us for the planned expansion of our toll roads business that will bring us closer to realizing our vision of connecting the North Expressway to the South into one seamless highway," Jose Ma. K. Lim, president and CEO, said in the disclosure.

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Monday, June 27, 2011

Meralco buys Aboitiz unit for coal plant

ENJD
Business World

MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) has moved to acquire a controlling stake in the Aboitiz Power Corp. unit that is building a 600-megawatt coal-fired plant in Zambales, disclosures filed with the local bourse showed.

RP Energy has the development rights over the coal-fired power plant planned to rise at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The planned acquisition falls in step with Meralco’s plans to start building a 1,500-megawatt (MW) power generation portfolio starting with a 600-MW base load plant and a 150-MW peaking plant by 2014.

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Fitch upgrades PLDT credit rating, may raise score further

Kathleen A. Martin
BusinessWorld

PHILIPPINE LONG Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has bagged another credit score upgrade, this time from Fitch Ratings which noted the improved climate in the country and possible gains from the telco’s acquisition of rival Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (Digitel).

The telecommunications giant’s long-term foreign currency issuer default ratings was raised to BBB- from BB+ with a stable outlook, Fitch said in a statement late on Friday.

Its credit score for debts in local currency was meanwhile raised to BBB+ from BBB, with the outlook for this rating on “positive watch.”

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