Megawide said in a regularly filing on Wednesday that GSIS acquired shares through a series of block trades, becoming one of the engineering and construction giant’s largest local institutional investors.
It now owns 191.71 million shares, which are worth about P790 million, based on current prices. About half of the shares were purchase by GSIS in the past 60 days.
The investment comes just weeks after GSIS quietly built a 7.5 percent stake in Saavedra’s Citicore Renewable Energy Corp.
Management’s view
“The investment of GSIS reflects another vote of confidence in our vision of engineering a First-World Philippines, particularly through our participation in various government-initiated campaigns and public-private partnerships that aim to address critical social and transport infrastructure in the country,” said Megawide chair and chief executive officer Edgar Saavedra.
Government projects
Megawide said the investment reinforces confidence in its participation in key government projects, including the expanded 4PH housing program and transport-centric developments aimed at modernizing public transport systems.
Last year, Pag-IBIG Fund partnered with Megawide to build more than 7,000 socialized housing units under the government’s expanded 4PH initiative using the company’s precast construction technology.
Returns and balance sheet
The company grew first-quarter net income by 24 percent to P265 million while cutting about P7 billion in short-term debt as part of its four-pronged growth strategy.
Megawide also recently declared a P1.45-per-share cash dividend, payable on Aug. 7 to shareholders on record as of July 23, with management hinting at another dividend declaration before year-end.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
