ALI earnings up 14% amid end of InterCon

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) saw earnings jump in the first quarter of 2016, as it cited higher revenues in its residential, shopping mall and office space segments. The hotel business, by contrast, was down due to the closure of the InterContinental Manila late last year.

ALI said in a statement Wednesday net income during the first three months of the year hit P4.7 billion, up 14 percent while total revenues rose 8 percent to P26.97 billion.

The developer, owned by Ayala Corp., spent P23.4 billion for project and capital expenditures in the first quarter of the year. Of the total capital expenditure, more than half went to the completion of residential projects and commercial leasing projects.

The builder currently has 18 estates spanning close to 9,000 hectares of property, all of which have multiple projects underway.

“With the strong economic fundamentals of the country, we continue to expand in existing locations and prime up our emerging and new estates,” Bernard Vincent O. Dy, ALI president and CEO, said in the statement.

For its residential business, the firm posted revenues of P14.47 billion, up 17 percent, driven by bookings and project completions across all residential brands.

Revenues from shopping centers reached P3.61 billion in the first quarter of 2016, 15 percent higher year-on-year.

ALI also continued to expand its office development and leasing businesses as revenues from the sale of office spaces reached P1.19 billion, which was up 35 percent. For office leasing, revenues reached P1.36 billion, 13 percent higher year-on-year.

Revenues from Hotels and Resorts reached P1.48 billion,  which was 2 percent lower due to the closure of the iconic InterContinental Manila. This was only negated by the higher occupancy in Seda Nuvali, the statement showed.