New Ayala Land CEO hinges profit ambition on mall expansion plan

MANILA,  Philippines  —Property giant Ayala Land Inc. set a plan to double profits by 2028 as it ramps up spending on fast-growing segments such as shopping malls, which had sparked the builder’s recovery from the pandemic, its new CEO Anna Ma. Margarita B. “Meean” Dy said. The five-year plan would translate to a growth of around 15 percent annually, she said on Wednesday.

Ayala Land, one of the country’s biggest developers, has yet to release full-year financials for 2023. She noted, however, that performance was better across the business. “I think we ended [2023] on a high note,” Dy said.

The developer would also be expanding and enhancing malls to cater to changing tastes.

Commercial leasing revenues jumped 32 percent to P30.8 billion during the first nine months of 2023 due to a 40-percent surge in shopping mall sales. This was faster than the group’s property development business, which grew by 4 percent during the same period.

‘Aggressive’ program

Augusto D. Bengzon, Ayala Land chief finance officer, said on Wednesday the developer was also preparing an “aggressive” expansion program in 2024 and would raise money from the capital markets to help double the business in five years.

“Suffice to day, [capital spending] will be quite aggressive so we will need to tap the market,” Bengzon said.

“I think we see a lot of opportunities so I think you can expect more activities from Ayala Land this year,” he added. From January to September last year, Ayala Land saw profits soar by 38 percent to P18.4 billion. The figure was about 80 percent of prepandemic earnings in 2019. It also raised its capital spending budget last year by 15 percent to P85 billion. Bengzon said they were still finalizing the spending budget for the year.