ALI eyes gains, thanks to Pinoys spurring sales

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) grew its net profit in the first semester by 12 percent year-on-year to P15.2 billion as higher earnings from commercial leasing and office sales made up for the decline in residential development revenues.

Total revenues increased by 4 percent year-on-year to P83.2 billion during the period.

“We continue to benefit from the strong economic growth of the country. Results from our various business lines continue to be good, with notable performances in our leasing portfolio and the sales of office condominiums and commercial lots. Moving forward, we remain positive on demand across all market segments. [We] plan to increase the level of product introduction in the second half of the year,” ALI president and chief executive Bernard Vincent Dy said in a statement Monday.

Demand for residential, office and commercial properties translated to real estate revenues of P81.9 billion during the period. Property development revenues amounted to P58.9 billion, supported by the office for sale segment, which grew by more than two-fold to P10.1 billion. Commercial and industrial lot sales increased by 11 percent to P4.3 billion.

Commercial leasing revenues jumped by 16 percent year-on-year to P18.6 billion. Shopping center revenues grew by 12 percent to P10.3 billion at end-June, supported by same mall revenue growth of 11 percent. This was attributed to the increased contribution from Ayala Malls Feliz, Circuit Makati and Capitol Central, which supplemented the strong operations of Glorietta and Greenbelt in Makati and Ayala Center in Cebu.

Six-month office leasing revenues also went up by 25 percent year-on-year to reach P4.6 billion as newly opened offices in Ayala North Exchange, Vertis North and Circuit Makati gained traction.

The hotels and resorts segment also saw a 17-percent year-on-year growth in revenues to P3.7 billion, due to strong performances from Seda Ayala Center Cebu and Lio.

On the other hand, residential revenues for the six-month period stood at P44.5 billion, 11-percent lower than the previous year mainly due to the sell-out and completion of earlier projects launched by Ayala Land Premier and Alveo.

Revenue growth from Avida and Amaia, however, tempered the overall slowdown in the residential segment. Avida generated P13.6 billion in revenues, 28-percent higher year-on-year, while Amaia booked P3.7 billion in revenues, up by 19 percent from the previous year.

As an indicator of future revenue growth, sales reservations remained steady at P72.3 billion, with local Filipinos continuing to drive demand with 70 percent of total buyers. Sales from overseas Filipinos comprised 13 percent while sales from other nationalities stood at 17 percent of total.

The group launched a total of 13 projects valued at P19.5 billion in the first semester. The company plans to ramp up launches in the second half.

Sales, which have yet to be booked as revenues, reached a total of P147 billion and will be recognized in the next three to four years based on percentage of completion.