Jun 142013
 
MVP not keen on SMC’s Meralco shares

MANILA, Philippines – The group of Manuel V. Pangilinan is comfortable with its shareholding in the country’s largest power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and is not likely to buy out San Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) assets in the firm. “We are comfortable with our current shareholding in Meralco  and we would be prepared to assist should San Miguel decide to dispose assets in Meralco,” Pangilinan told reporters following the stockholders meeting of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) yesterday. “There has been no final decision to what extent we may or may not participate, but if we do, we may consider participating in a modest way,” he said further. He said that should the group decide to acquire more Meralco shares, it would not be to the point where their total stake would go over 51 percent. “(We will participate but) not to the point it will trigger tender offer obligation,” he said. A mandatory tender offer is triggered when an investor accumulates more than 51 percent stake in a public company. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The acquiring company should then offer to buy all shares held by minority shareholders. SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said earlier that the diversifying conglomerate is willing to sell its stake in Meralco. SMC owns around 36 percent of Meralco, making it one of the top shareholders in the company. Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp., controls nearly Read More …

Feb 282013
 
MPIC profit jumps 28% to P6.5 B

MANILA, Philippines – Infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), fresh from beating its full-year core earnings guidance, expects another banner year amid continuous economic growth. Core net income, which strips out currency and derivatives-related items, jumped 30 percent to P1.5 billion in the fourth quarter. This allowed MPIC to post a 28-percent uptick in core profit to P6.5 billion in 2012 from P5.1 billion in 2011. It is also higher than the company’s P6.3-billion core profit guidance. “The strong results for 2012 reflect significant improvements in service levels and efficiency gains for all our operating companies,” MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a briefing. “It is likely that the 2013 results will be better than the 2012,” Pangilinan said, adding that the outlook is encouraging given optimistic views on the Philippine economy. In the fourth quarter, profits were driven by strong water, power distribution, toll roads and hospitals businesses, MPIC chief finance officer David J. Nicol said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 For the entire year, consolidated net income rose to P6.4 billion from P5.1 billion a year ago. This reflects a P142-million non-recurring net loss. MPIC president and CEO Jose Ma. K. Lim said the increase in core net income was due mainly to higher profit contributions from Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), higher rates for Maynilad Water Services Inc., traffic growth at Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) and investments from the hospital group. In terms of contribution to MPIC’s net operating income, Maynilad Read More …