MANILA, Philippines—Property developer Megaworld Corp. grew its net profit last year by 22 percent to P9.03 billion on strong earnings from its residential development and leasing portfolio.
The 2013 profit figure included an estimated P760 million in nonrecurring gains from the consolidation of a company acquired by Megaworld at a cost below the unit’s book value. The subsidiary is a holding company for a tract of land on C5 where Megaworld will put up another township.
“The country’s strong and stable economy, as well as the continuous growth of the BPO (business process outsourcing) sector, have propelled our growth in 2013. Last year was another banner year for Megaworld,” said Andrew Tan, Megaworld chair and chief executive officer.
Total revenues of Megaworld, together with subsidiaries Empire East Land Holdings and Suntrust Properties, amounted to P36.24 billion in 2013—up by 18 percent from that of the previous year. Townships Newport City, Uptown Bonifacio, McKinley Hill and Eastwood City were the key revenue drivers in 2013.
Last year, the Megaworld group’s reservation sales grew by 7.4 percent to a record high of P68.2 billion due to the 18 projects the company launched last year.
Also, Megaworld’s rental income from office developments and lifestyle malls surged by 21 percent to a record P6.04 billion in 2013. Annual rental income is projected to breach P10 billion in the next four years.
By the end of 2014, Megaworld will have around 712,000 square meters of office space in its portfolio with the completion of new office towers in Uptown Bonifacio, The Mactan Newtown in Cebu and Iloilo Business Park.
At the same time, Megaworld will add another 70,000 square meters to its commercial and retail space with the completion of the Venice Grand Canal Mall in McKinley Hill and commercial strips at The Mactan Newtown. These will bring its commercial and retail space portfolio to 240,000 square meters by the end of 2014.
“Along with our sustained growth in the residential segment, we are committed to further expand our recurring income portfolio especially in our office and retail businesses. By 2017, we expect our rental income to reach P10 billion, double that of 2012,” Tan added.
To date, Megaworld has 10 township projects throughout the country covering around 300 hectares of land.
Over the past 24 years, Megaworld has completed more than 320 residential and office buildings with a total area of around 5.6 million square meters.