Megaworld unit posts 39% growth in 2015 core profit

The Megaworld group’s leisure estate arm Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (Geri) reported a 39-percent increase in core profit last year to P667 million, driven by the residential business’ strong revenue growth.

Including non-recurring items, Geri’s net profit last year amounted to P848 million or flat from the P856 million level in 2014.  These figures included minority interest.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Geri reported there was a P181-million non-recurring gain booked last year.  In 2014, there was a larger one-time gain of P377 million.

Excluding non-recurring gains, Geri’s consolidated revenue last year amounted to P5.21 billion, 75 percent higher than the level in the previous year.

The growth was attributed to its residential business, which contributed about 80 percent of consolidated revenue.

As an indicator of future revenue growth, real estate sales doubled to a record P4.14 billion in 2015 as the company reported a fast take-up of residential properties in Alabang West and Boracay Newcoast.

“Certainly, the residential business continues to be strong for Geri as we maintain the momentum of growth for the company. Our key strength is our scalable and strategic land bank—the benefits of which are evident in our bullish performance during the past years. This 2016, we look forward to more residential and commercial offerings in our various tourism and leisure estates across the country,” Geri president Monica Salomon said in a statement.

To date, Geri has five integrated leisure and tourism township developments across the country covering around 2,146 hectares of land. These are Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island, Aklan (150 hectares); Twin Lakes in Laurel, Batangas near Tagaytay (1,200 hectares); Southwoods City on the boundaries of Carmona, Cavite, and Biñan, Laguna (561 hectares); Sta. Barbara Heights in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo (173 hectares); and Alabang West in Las Piñas (62 hectares).

Megaworld, which owns 82.3-percent of Geri, has taken an aggressive role in transforming the latter’s vast land bank into integrated urban townships.