Megaworld sees P11B rental income this 2016

TYCOON Andrew Tan-led property developer Megaworld expects recurring earnings from its commercial property portfolio to reach P11 billion this year, accounting for at least a fifth of total business.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, Megaworld said it would complete more office towers, malls and commercial centers with a total gross floor area of more than 650,000 square meters by the end of the year. With this pace of expansion, the property developer sees its recurring income to grow to more than 20 percent of total revenue by end-2016.

“We are on track in strengthening our office and mall portfolio as we continue to experience robust demand for spaces, both office and retail, in our townships. Both our offices and retail spaces enjoy a very high occupancy rate of around 99 percent across our developments,” Megaworld senior vice president Jericho Go said.

At least 10 office towers in Uptown Bonifacio, McKinley West, The Mactan Newtown and Iloilo Business Park are expected to be completed by yearend, adding a gross floor area of 287,500 square meters to Megaworld’s office property inventory.

Currently, the company has over 150 companies in its portfolio of office tenants, mostly from the information technology and business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) sector.

Through the years, Megaworld townships have provided office space to some of the world’s biggest IT-BPO companies such as Accenture, Wells Fargo, HP, IBM and United Health Group.

Apart from office properties, around 11 malls and commercial centers will be completed in McKinley Hill, Uptown Bonifacio, McKinley West, The Mactan Newtown, Iloilo Business Park, ArcoVia City, Southwoods City and Makati by yearend. These new developments will have a gross floor area of around 371,000 square meters.

“Our malls and commercial centers primarily cater to our growing residents and BPO workers in our townships. Megaworld offers a “ready market” to our retail partners. In McKinley Hill, for example, where we have around 80,000 BPO workers and 12,000 residents. They are the primary customers of Venice Piazza, Tuscany and the upcoming Venice GrandCanal Mall,” said Go.