Sta. Lucia board OKs joint ventures, land acquisitions

The real estate firm told the stock exchange yesterday its board of directors authorized and approved joint ventures covering 14 projects with an aggregate area of 162,054 square meters (sq.m.). The projects are located Quezon City, Bulacan, Laguna, and Rizal.
Likewise, Sta. Lucia was cleared to purchase lots in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; Biñan, Laguna; and Bacoor, Cavite with a total area of 22,212 sq.m.
Sta. Lucia intends to push through with its up to P5-billion maiden bond offering in November despite the volatility in financial markets.
A prospectus filed on July 9 showed Sta. Lucia plans to raise P3 billion from an offering of Series A Bonds Due 2018 and Series B Bonds Due 2021 with an option to sell another P2 billion in case of strong demand.
Net proceeds of as much as P4.90 billion from the debt issuance will be used to partly refinance existing debt, capital expenditures for land banking and ongoing projects, and general corporate purposes.
Sta. Lucia’s net profit went up 31% year-on-year to P402 million in the first half from P307 million, as revenues climbed 67% to P1.6 billion from P956 million a year ago.