By Cyntia Barrera Diaz and Noel Randewich)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Geo, one of Mexico's leading homebuilders, plans to restructure up to 70 percent of its debt this year and grow its sales as much as 10 percent despite a slumping economy.
Chairman and Chief Executive Luis Orvananos told the Reuters Latin American Investment Summit in Mexico City that his company plans to build around 60,000 new houses in 2009 to keep up with steady demand from first-time buyers.
Fallout from the U.S. credit crunch created tough borrowing conditions for companies in Mexico, especially in the market for commercial paper.
Orvananos said Geo (GEOB.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plans over the next few months to extend the maturities of much of its 7.8 billion pesos ($594 million) in mostly short-term debt.
"What we want is to extend maturities, long term ... we are looking for 10, 15 years," Orvananos said.
Shares of Geo rose 10.2 percent on Wednesday to 23.33 pesos.
Geo and competitors like Homex (HOMEX.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Ara (ARA.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) specialize in mass-producing small houses that sell for under $30,000.
Despite a shrinking economy, Mexico's housing industry is expected to expand this year thanks to steady financing available from government-backed mortgage lender Infonavit.
Mexico's banks are also relatively healthy, having focused on traditional lending rather than the subprime niches involved in the U.S. financial crisis.
Still, Mexican consumers are being more cautious about how they spend their money, and currently only about 20 percent of visitors to Geo developments and offices are buying, compared to 30 percent in the past, Orvananos said.
To make up for that dip, Geo has increased its sales channels to attract more potential buyers, he said.
Many Mexican companies posted lukewarm first-quarter results hurt by the economic slowdown, but Geo bucked the trend and posted a 3.6 percent increase in its bottom line and a 9.3 percent jump in sales.
($1 = 13.14 pesos)
(Additional reporting by Gabriela Lopez and Tomas Sarmiento; Editing Bernard Orr)
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