THE board of mass-housing builder 8990 Holdings Inc. on Monday said it approved a P2-billion share buyback program that will run through August next year.
“The share buyback program will not involve any active and widespread solicitation for stockholders of the company to sell their shares,” 8990 said in its disclosure, adding the majority owners will not participate in the activity.
“The purpose of the share buyback program is to enhance and improve shareholder value and to manifest confidence in the company’s value and prospects through the repurchase of the common shares,” it said.
The company’s shares were last traded at P10.46 per share.
8990 earlier said it will allot P10 billion in capital expenditures this year, which would include P1 billion in capital outlay for its new hotel venture, as the company hopes to build more units aimed for the working class. Willibaldo J. Uy, the company’s president and CEO, said the spending is 25 percent higher than last year’s P8 billion in capex budget.
“We’re doing a lot of tightening [in 2019]. Our market is the affordable housing market as much as possible; we should not move prices,” Uy said.
As interest rates rise, many property developers are also increasing their prices as it finance construction through debts.
Uy said he is recommending a 10-percent increase in prices, but that rate is still up for board approval.
Profits and revenues of the mass-housing builder has been on the decline since the assumption of the Duterte administration as it wasn’t able to give out permits on time, resulting in construction delays.
