|
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
No plans to raise cash: AEV
By Cherry T. Lim
UNLIKE other conglomerates that are floating bonds to raise cash, the Aboitiz group is not planning any such offering, although it is looking to spend big time for National Power Corp.’s (Napocor) assets up for privatization.
“Our balance sheet is not very leveraged. We have a good cash flow. Raising a dollar debt is (also) not advisable at this point,” said Jon Ramon Aboitiz, president and chief executive officer of Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV).
In an interview over the weekend, he said if the conglomerate needed to raise funds, it still had a lot of credit lines, both foreign and local, that it could draw on.
Debt
At the end of September, AEV reported a debt to equity ratio of 0.79:1 and cash balance of P1.9 billion.
Aboitiz told Sun.Star there were also no plans to make any more divestments after AEV last week sold its shares in Mindanao Container Co.
“That was one of the last of our non-core businesses,” he said.
The group can now focus on its core businesses, which are power, banking, food and transport.
Erramon Aboitiz, chief operating officer of AEV, said that for 2004, the group was going selectively after Napocor assets up for sale.
As for its banks, City Savings Bank and UnionBank of the Philippines, Jon Ramon
Aboitiz said the banks required “no capital” because of their high capital adequacy ratios.
In shipping, Tsuneishi Heavy Industries Inc. in Balamban, Cebu is currently expanding so it will be able to build ships weighing up to 120,000 deadweight tons.
At present, its slipway can accommodate ships with a deadweight capacity of up to 53,000 tons.
As for FBMA Babcock Marine Inc., Aboitiz said it recently got an order from Dutch ferry operator Rederij Doeksen, as well as orders from two other European companies.
FBMA built two of Supercat’s tricats used for inter-island travel.
Another cat
Last month, the Aboitiz group also bought the Supercat 10 from Korea. It now plies the Iloilo-Bacolod route.
After AEV brought in five Superferries this year—four new ones and one reactivated and transformed into Superferry 19 —and the one additional Supercat, Erramon said there are no plans to add ships to its fleet next year.
He expected profits for businesses in general next year to be flat.
“A lot of investment is wait and see. People usually slow down before an election, but we (AEV) already have our game plan,” Erramon said.
The group is looking to buy the mini hydro plants of Napocor in Davao, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Bukidnon, as well as its sub-transmission assets in Pampanga.
(December 16, 2003 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[ return
to top ]
[ home
]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
