CLI posts 41% jump in reservation sales

The Soberano family’s Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) said real estate prospects remained strong in the Visayas and Minda­nao despite a slowdown in the broader economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said reservation sales, an indication of future revenue, jumped 41 percent to P7.44 billion in the first semester of 2020. This was mainly from its Casa Mira brand.

CLI remained resilient even as mid-income housing, partly reliant on sales to overseas Filipinos, took a hit during the crisis.

While profits sank 7 percent to P792 million in the first semester, the builder was on track to meet its full-year earnings targets, company chair and CEO Jose Soberano III said.

He added that projects will proceed in the second half of the year as buyers said they would continue with their purchases.

“The pandemic has made many see that owning a home in a safe and secure community is a good way to secure their family’s future,” Soberano said in a statement.

The company has 14 projects this year valued at P19 billion. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS