Robinsons Land to buy back P3 billion shares
LISTED property developer Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) earmarked P3 billion for a buyback program that seeks to augment its shareholder value.
The company said in a stock exchange disclosure on Friday that the share buyback program will not involve any active and widespread solicitation from stockholders and will be implemented in the open market via the trading facilities of the Philippine Stock Exchange.
“The objectives of the share buyback program are to enhance shareholder value and to manifest confidence in the company’s value and prospects through the repurchase of the common shares of the company,” RLC said in the disclosure.
“The share buyback program will not affect any of the company’s prospective and existing projects and investments,” it added.
In a separate statement, RLC President and Chief Executive Officer Frederick D. Go said the stock buyback program was unanimously approved by the company’s board of directors.
“The recent real estate investment trust (REIT) listing of RL Commercial REIT (RCR) and its subsequent strong performance, crystalizes the value of RLC,” Mr. Go said.
According to RLC, its current market capitalization is at P90.79 billion, based on its closing price of P17.48 per share on Nov. 3, trading at a price to earnings multiple of 12x.
“The company has a strong balance sheet with a total asset of P214 billion and a low debt-to-equity ratio of just 39% as of June 30, 2021. Moreover, RLC has raised P23.5 billion from the overwhelmingly oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO) secondary share offering of RCR that it plans to use in its various businesses in the next 11 months,” the company said.
“Shares purchased under the buyback program will be booked as treasury shares of the company,” it added.
On Friday, shares of RLC at the stock exchange rose 6.46% or P1.14 to end at P18.80 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
