FLI sets ’17 capex at P20B for expansion

The Gotianun family’s Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) is hiking capital spending this year, as it expands its residential development and leasing businesses.

Specifically, spending this year would amount to some P20 billion, which would be evenly split between its core segments, officials revealed during FLIs’ annual shareholders’ meeting yesterday. For 2016, capital spending was P14.4 billion.

FLI president and CEO Lourdes Josephine Gotianun-Yap said the company remained optimistic on both the residential and the office and retail rentals segments of the business. The latter have been ramping up in recent years.

By 2019, FLI’s office and retail gross leasable area would hit 1 million square meters, to provide 50 percent of revenue. This segment accounted for 40 percent of revenue in 2016.

“A lot of those projects are already in the pipeline, whether under construction or plans are being completed,” Gotianun said.

Major expansion areas included Cebu, Alabang and FLI’s Clark Green City project in Pampanga.

Clark Green City, a venture with state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority, spans 288 hectares, and will have industrial, residential and commercial components, according to FLI.

Gotianun said the BCDA had already started building primary access roads to Clark Green City. Earlier this week, the Department of Transportation said it would purse a train line that would link Clark to Manila before the term of President Duterte ends in 2022.

FLI earlier announced that full-year 2016 profit hit a record, as it expanded its leasing portfolio.

Net income last year hit P5.35 billion, up 5 percent. The builder said revenues hit P19.5 billion, up 7 percent.

FLI said the biggest revenue growth came from its leasing business, which hit P3.38 billion, up 15 percent.