Golden Bria Holdings Inc. said Monday it will change its corporate name to Golden MV Holdings Inc., fueling speculations it could be transformed into the listed holding company of real estate tycoon Manuel Villar.
Golden Bria said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board of directors approved in a special board meeting the change in the company’s corporate name. It did not provide a reason for the change, which is subject to shareholders’ approval.
This is not the first time that the Villar Group changed the name of Golden Bria. The company was previously called Golden Haven Inc. when it listed with the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2016. At that time, the company was engaged in death-care business, including development and sale of memorial lots and columbarium facilities.
The company was renamed Golden Bria in 2017 after the company acquired a controlling stake in Bria Homes Inc., another residential company owned by the Villar Group which offers affordable house-and-lot projects.
The share price of Golden Bria closed unchanged at P399 on Monday.
Villar is primarily engaged in property and development through Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. and Vistamalls Inc. and retail business under All Value Holdings Inc.
All Value owns listed AllHome Corp. and other retail establishments, including AllDay Supermarket, Coffee Project, AllDay Convenience Store, Bake My Day, AllToys and AllStores.
Golden Bria reported a 40-percent decline in net profit to P1 billion in the first nine months from P1.67 billion booked in the same period last year as nine-month revenues declined by 32 percent to P4 billion, following the 32-percent drop in real estate sales to P3.9 billion.
Net income reached P385.8 million in the third quarter, down by 37.4 percent from P615.2 million a year ago as revenues also went by 20 percent to P1.68 billion from P2.1 billion.