Ayala Land Inc. expects to sustain robust growth in its property business in the second semester, as it expands further its land inventory while unlocking more values out of its existing projects.
In the first semester, ALI booked P4.2 billion in revenue from the sale of commercial lots in the Food Terminal Inc. property in Taguig City, ALI chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael said in a briefing last week.
“We have a few more lots that we should be able to sell,” Ysmael said, adding that ALI was reserving for its own portfolio 50 hectares out of the 74 hectare of land it acquired from the government last year.
FTI is dubbed as ALI’s “Arca South” project.
FTI lot sales accounted for the bulk of ALI’s total earnings from the sale of commercial and industrial lots which increased by 307 percent year-on-year to P5.18 billion in the first semester. In the first quarter of the year, alone, ALI sold FTI lots worth P3.5 billion.
FTI is the single biggest landbank acquired by ALI since taking over the Bonifacio Global City project in 2003. This accounted for the bulk of the company’s landbanking cost last year.
Ysmael said ALI was keen on further expanding its land inventory, expecting to end the year with 6,900 hectares, up from 5,400 hectares as of the end of 2012.
“We’ll continue acquiring new and replenishing (our stock),” he said.
ALI boosted its six-month net profit by 30 percent year-on-year to P5.62 billion as the company unlocked higher earnings from property development, commercial leasing and construction businesses.
Asked whether ALI could sustain this growth trend, Ysmael said: “the environment remains favorable, the economy remains driven by infrastructure spending and consumption story remains very strong,” he said.
“(Product) launches will also accelerate in the second half and that should provide the fresh inventory that will feed our sales force,” he said.
ALI’s four residential brands launched a total of 10,130 units in the first six months of the year, worth P30.64 billion.
As an indicator of future earnings growth from its residential business, ALI’s sales take-up value for the first six months reached P43.79 billion, equivalent to an average monthly sales take-up of P7.3 billion, an all-time high.
Apart from growing its residential portfolio, expanding the office property segment is part of the company’s growth strategy. The goal is to triple the office portfolio in the next five years, catering mostly to the business process outsourcing (BPO) market. About 279,000 square meters of additional BPO office will be in various stages of completion during the year, Ysmael said.