Ayala group earmarks P262B for 2019 capital spending

Ayala Corp. (AC) on Wednesday said it plans to spend P262 billion in combined capital expenditure (capex) for its businesses this year, the bulk of which will be allocated to its real estate and telecommunications units.

In a regulatory filing submitted by AC Investor Relations Head Celeste Jovenir, the conglomerate noted that it will slightly hike its capex from the P249 billion in 2018.

"A bulk of this amount is allocated to Ayala Land (Inc.) and Globe (Telecom Inc.), which have set aside P130 billion and P63 billion in capital expenditure for the year, respectively," the filing read.

Ayala Land said its all-time high capex of P130 billion will be spent mainly on new projects across the country, with 40 percent allocated for residential projects.

Meanwhile, Globe said most of its spending for the year will be bent on addressing data traffic growth and supporting the rollout of its LTE business.

As a group, AC posted a 5-percent increase in its bottom line in 2018 to P31.8 billion, driven mainly by the contribution from its Ayala Land, Globe, and AC Energy Inc.

At the parent level, AC is programmed to spend P22.6 billion this year, lower than the P43.7 billion capex the company reported in 2018, which primarily funded the rights offerings of the Bank of the Philippine Islands and Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc.

"Over the past 10 years, we spent close to P200 billion in capital expenditure at the parent level alone to support the investment programs of our various business units, including our new growth platforms in power, industrial technologies, infrastructure, education, and healthcare," said AC president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala.

"For 2019, parent level capital spending is programmed at P22.6 billion primarily to bankroll the growth initiatives of AC Energy, AC Infra, and AC Health," the filing read. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/KG, GMA News