Property firms enjoy profit surge in H1

Listed property firms sustained their strong growth momentum in the first six months of the year, as seen in the surges in their sales and earnings.

Based on their respective disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange, most property firms continue to enjoy a healthy take up in their respective projects as well as higher recurring incomes given a more diversified portfolio.

Here is a roundup of their performance in the first half of 2017.

ITALPINAS DEVELOPMENT CORP. (IDC)

This publicly listed developer of sustainable, green buildings in emerging cities saw a 114-percent surge in its net profit to P19.4 million in the first six months of 2017, from the P9.1 million recorded a year ago.

Its revenues likewise rose by 44.8 percent to P84 million for the same period, on the back of the company’s enhanced sales and marketing program.

“Revenues for the first half of 2017 came from realized sales of the Primavera City Phase 1, comprising of two 11-storey residential condominium buildings (in) Cagayan de Oro. The project started pre-selling last June 2016. (To date), sales generated reached 81 percent, equivalent to 114 residential units out of the 140 saleable units for the Primavera City Tower A,” said IDC chair and CEO Romolo Nati.

“Owing to this favorable sales performance, IDC opened up for sale the Primavera City Tower B recently. As of June 2017, the company sold 28 residential units out of available 141 units, (equivalent to) 20 percent of the saleable units,” he said.

SM PRIME HOLDINGS INC.

The country’s leading integrated property company grew its net income by 14 percent to P14.39 billion in the first six months, on the back of higher earnings from its shopping malls and brisk sales from its residential projects.

Consolidated revenues also grew by 10 percent to P43.25 billion for the same period.

“SM Prime’s performance in the first half of the year reflects a more balanced revenue and income streams from our various businesses including the growing contribution from our provincial operations. We are happy to report that our investments in the provinces are now bearing fruits, particularly in mall operations given that these account for more than half of our Philippine malls portfolio. In the coming years, we are expecting a growing contribution from our residential group as we are launching more housing projects across the country,” SM Prime president Jeffrey C. Lim said in the disclosure.

Mall revenues, which contributed 60 percent of SM Prime’s consolidated revenues, rose by 10 percent in the first half of the year to P25.68 billion.

The residential group, which accounted for 32 percent of SM Prime’s consolidated revenues, recorded a 5 percent increase to P13.91 billion in the first half.

CEBU LANDMASTERS INC.

This homegrown Cebu developer recorded a 164-percent surge in its net income to P634 million in the first half of the year, due largely to fast project turnaround and its strong sales.

This healthy financial performance is expected to enable Cebu Landmasters to even surpass its P1.2 billion net income target by yearend.

“We’re proud to be a homegrown VisMin brand that has captured the needs and preferences of our target market as reflected in the sales velocity of our developments. We have also leveraged on our deep relations with our business partners and suppliers to ensure that our constructions progress as scheduled,” said CLI chief executive officer Jose Soberano.

“We’re highly aware that meeting our commitments to our buyers on time has a great impact on our bottom-line and the strength of our brand,” Soberano said.

AYALA LAND INC.

Ayala Land recorded an 18-percent hike in its net earnings to P11.5 billion in the first half, driven mainly by its property development and leasing businesses.

Its consolidated revenues also rose by 18 percent to P64.5 billion, more than half of which came from the sale of residential lots and units, office spaces, as well as commercial and industrial lots, the company said.

“We’ve seen residential sales pick up in 2017, after a few years of relatively flat growth. Given our pipeline of launches for the balance of 2017, we remain positive that we can sustain the growth in the second half of the year,” said ALI president and CEO Bernard Vincent O. Dy.

“At the same time, our leasing business continues on its steady upward trajectory given the increasing contribution of our new shopping centers, offices and hotels,” Dy further said.

BELLE CORP.

The leisure estate and gaming firm recorded a 93 percent surge in its consolidated net income to P1.77 billion in the first six months, fueled primarily by the growth in its revenues from City of Dreams Manila.

According to the company, its share in the gaming income of City of Dreams Manila—through its 78.7 percent-owned subsidiary Premium Leisure Corp.—more than doubled to P1.46 billion in the first half of the year.

Belle also realized increased revenues from its real estate businesses. Total real estate-related revenues rose by 10 percent to P1.6 billion as of end June.

MEGAWORLD CORP.

This property giant boosted its net income in the first half of the year by 11 percent to P6.69 billion, on the back of its double digit growth in rental income from its office, mall and hotel businesses.

Net income attributable to parent company’s shareholders also expanded by 11 percent to P6.44 billion for the same period, from the P5.81 billion recorded a year ago.

“It has been a strong first half for Megaworld as we continue the trajectory of our rental income while maintaining revenues for our residential business. Across businesses, there is an indication that we will continue our double digit growth until the end of the year,” said Megaworld SVP and treasurer Francis Canuto.

Megaworld’s rental business, which included offices, malls and commercial centers, remained the primary contributor to its earnings growth, according to the company.