Ayala Land Q1 income up 18% to P5.56B

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) grew its net income in the first quarter by 18 percent year-on-year to P5.56 billion on higher earnings from property development and commercial leasing.

The first quarter performance translated to a return on equity of 15 percent.

The sustained income growth is expected to contribute to the achievement of ALI’s P40-billion net income target by 2020, the company said.

“Property sales have been encouraging and our commercial revenues continue to be on an upward trajectory. Given these positive results, we remain committed to launch over P100 billion worth of projects to support our targets for the year,” ALI president and chief executive officer Bernard Vincent Dy said in a press statement on Monday.

Consolidated revenues reached P31.64 billion in the first three months, 17 percent higher compared to last year’s level.

As an indicator of future revenue growth, property sales take-up likewise increased by 10 percent year-on-year to P27.3 billion in the first quarter, driven by the growing demand for residential and office spaces.

Total revenues from property development in the first quarter amounted to P19.72 billion, 21 percent higher than the level posted in the same period in 2016. Revenues from commercial leasing amounted to P7.05 billion, 9 percent higher than last year’s level.

The company spent a total of P21.8 billion for project and capital expenditures in the first three months of 2017. Of the total, 46 percent was spent for the completion of residential projects, 37 percent for commercial leasing projects, 14 percent for land acquisition, new businesses, services and other investments, and 3 percent for the development of estates.

To partially finance capital expenditures, the company raised P10 billion from a 10-year bilateral loan from Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. last March. It subsequently raised P7 billion from an offering of 10-year retail bonds at a fixed coupon rate of 5.2624 percent per annum. The bond represented the fourth tranche of the fixed-rate retail bond series of the company’s P50-billion debt securities program registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March 2016.

ALI will roll out three estates this year—the 200-hectare Evo City in Kawit, Cavite, the 25-hectare Azuela Cove in Davao, and the 35-hectare joint venture project with the LT Group within Pasig and Quezon City.