Robinsons Land aims to double net profit by 2019

GOKONGWEI-led property developer Robinsons Land Corp. seeks to double its net profit in the next five years through 2019 by growing all businesses despite cutthroat competition.

As RLC chalked up P4.73 billion in net profit in the fiscal year ending September 2014, this suggests that the property firm’s goal is to reach a P9.46-billion bottomline by fiscal year 2019.

In an economic forum jointly organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) and ING Bank on Wednesday, RLC president Frederick Go said competition in the real estate sector was becoming “extremely tough.”

For a company like RLC which has long relied more on recurring earnings from its portfolio of office, shopping malls and hotels, Go said the challenge would be to sustain growth coming from an already large base. This year, he said RLC had earmarked at least P17 billion for capital spending.

About 80-85 percent of RLC’s earnings come from businesses that provide recurring income. Moving forward, Go said “the mix won’t change dramatically.”

With greater competition, Go said the key would be to work harder. Where in the past it was possible to build a new mall in eight to nine months, he said now the minimum timeframe would be at least 18 months.

Generally, he said RLC would still open three to five new shopping malls per year. One large shopping mall in the pipeline is Robinsons Galleria Cebu, which is set to open this year. At present, RLC has 39 shopping malls in operation.

“Every year, we have to build more of everything,” Go said, noting that RLC would strive to meet its goal of doubling net profit by 2019 by expanding all four segments- residential development, office, shopping mall and hotel businesses.