Zobel-controlled Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, is planning to raise up to P15 billion through the issuance of preferred shares.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the firm said its Board of Directors at its regular meeting held Thursday, June 27, approved the issuance of Philippine Peso Preferred Shares with a base amount of P10 billion plus an oversubscription option for up to an additional P5 billion, subject to regulatory requirements.
“Appropriate disclosures shall be made once the terms have been finalized,” Ayala Corp. added.
The conglomerate is raising its capital expenditure budget by 14 percent to P284 billion this year from P249 billion in 2023 as it is confident of surpassing last year’s record financial performance.
In a press briefing after the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting, Ayala Corp. President and CEO Cezar P. Consing said “2023 was a reasonably good year for us in aggregate. That's our new high watermark in terms of net income. It exceeded pre-COVID. It was up on the year before.”
“This year, that momentum, at least what we're seeing right now, is pretty good. And we're seeing it more evenly distributed across our many businesses… This year, I think you're going to see more of our businesses begin to show real positive events,” he added.
Ayala Corp. Chief Finance Officer Alberto M. de Larrazabal said the bulk of this year’s capex will be spent for the expansion of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and ACEN Corporation.
ALI raised its capex budget by 14 percent to P100 billion this year while ACEN has increased its allotment by about 40 percent to P72 billion.
On the other hand, other subsidiaries are reducing their capex, particularly Globe Telecom which has budgeted P55 billion, a five-year low as it has already scaled up its facilities in recent years.
For the parent company, including funding for the group’s portfolio investments, Ayala Corp. has allotted capital expenditures of P13 billion for 2023.
The conglomerate is bullish on the potential of ACMobility (formerly AC Motors) to support the inevitable EV transition in the country.
ACMobility CEO Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala reiterated the company's goal of pioneering the first EV ecosystem, a key step to supporting the country’s EV transition.
"In the short term, our focus is to set up the local EV ecosystem by bringing in a compelling line-up of four-wheel EVs as well as by widening the charging infrastructure, store footprint, and our internal capabilities," he said.
Zobel added that "we recognize that the shift towards clean technology will take time to materialize. Thus, our focus today is to enable that transition."