Real estate firms on a roll

By: Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
01:42 AM May 20, 2017
http://business.inquirer.net/229908/real-estate-firms-roll

Apart from the experts’ forecasts of a sustained bullish run for the industry, some of the country’s biggest developers recorded a stellar performance in the first quarter, prompting many of them to beef up their capital outlay for 2017.

Based on recent reports and disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange, listed property firms have seen encouraging sales, as well as increases in retail and office leasing activities.

Here’s a quick roundup of their first quarter reports.

Vista Land saw an 11 percent hike in its net income to P2.3 billion in the first quarter this year, on the back of robust leasing activities and an improvement in its residential sales.

Consolidated revenues for the quarter, it reported, rose 14 percent to P9 billion, as leasing revenue significantly increased to P1.4 billion. The company added about 70,000 sqm of gross floor area (GFA) in its investment properties from the expansion of existing malls.

“(The year) 2017 promises to be another record year for Vista Land. We are pleased to have been able to achieve solid growth over the past years and should have no problem continuing the trend this year,” Vista Land chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. said in the disclosure.

Vista Land expects its capital outlay for the year to reach P35.3 billion and targets to have 1.3 million sqm in GFA by end 2018.

Property giant Megaworld Corp. posted an 11 percent hike in its first quarter net profit to P2.9 billion, boosted mainly by a strong growth in rental income.

In its disclosure earlier this month, the Andrew Tan-led firm reported that the consolidated revenues of the group—which included Global Estate Resorts, Inc., Empire East Land Holdings Inc. and Suntrust Properties, Inc.—grew 5 percent to P12 billion for the same period.

Megaworld highlighted its rental income, which expanded by 26 percent to a record P2.9 billion, while hotel revenues rose 23 percent to P335 million in the first three months.

Over the long term, the company is targeting to strengthen its recurring income base while maintaining its leadership in residential developments.

Belle Corp. saw a 90 percent surge in its consolidated net income to P783 million in the first quarter, fueled by the growth in its revenues from City of Dreams Manila.

Belle said in its disclosure that its “share in the gaming income of City of Dreams Manila—through its 78.7 percent-owned subsidiary, Premium Leisure Corp.—more than doubled to P722 million.The company also chalked up an 84 percent hike in its recurring net income to P760 million for the same period.

Meanwhile, its real estate-related revenues inched up by 3 percent to P680 million, P512 million of which could be attributed to Belle’s lease of the land and buildings comprising City of Dreams Manila. The remaining P168 million came from sales of real estate products and property management activities at Tagaytay Highlands and Midlands.

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. delivered strong results in the first quarter, with its net income hitting P5.56 billion, up 18 percent from a year ago.

Consolidated revenues rose 17 percent to P31.64 billion, on the back of the “solid performance of its property development, commercial leasing, and services businesses… Property sales take up increased 10 percent to P27.3 billion driven by the growing demand for residential and office for sale products,” ALI disclosed to the PSE.

“Property sales have been encouraging and our commercial revenues continue to be on an upward trajectory. Given these positive results, we remain committed to launch over P100 billion worth of projects to support our targets for the year,” ALI president and CEO Bernard Vincent Dy said.

SM Prime Holdings Inc., the property arm of SM Investments Corp., registered a 13 percent hike in its net income to P6.6 billion in the first quarter, due to higher rental revenues and real estate sales.

Based on its disclosure, consolidated revenues was 12 percent higher at P20.5 billion from the P18.2 billion a year ago.

“Our strong performance in the first quarter gives us high confidence that we are on track to meet our growth targets in terms of revenues and income for the full year. As we continue our strategic rollout of projects across our properties, we are optimistic that our growth will be sustained by the overall expansion of the Philippine economy,” SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim said in a statement.

SM Prime’s overall mall revenues, which accounted for 62 percent of consolidated revenues, went up by 11 percent to P12.7 billion, while its residential group posted a 6 percent hike in revenues to P6 billion.