MANILA, Philippines — Visayas and Mindanao-focused developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) is seeing strong interest from landowners in Cavite province and Metro Manila, pushing forward its Luzon debut this year.
CLI chair and CEO Jose Soberano III on Friday said that while Camarines Sur was their initial target for their first project in Luzon, they were seeing strong interest from Cavite-based landowners and potential partnerships in the National Capital Region.
“We’re excited to see how well our projects will perform [in Luzon]. Will we have the same velocity? …. We’re excited how well we can compete using the values that helped us get where we are,” he said during CLI’s first-quarter earnings briefing.
CLI, which was established in 2003, plans to launch 11 projects worth a total of P27.65 billion this year after booking higher earnings and record revenues in the first quarter.
Net income from January to March reached P978 million, a 15-percent growth from the same quarter last year.
Revenues, meanwhile, surged by 31 percent to P6.2 billion, the highest CLI recorded in a single quarter.
Setting up Luzon office
According to Soberano, they will soon set up their Luzon office in Makati City to support their expansion plan on the country’s largest island.
Apart from Metro Manila and Cavite, the developer is also eyeing the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan) region.
Currently, CLI has 37 completed projects, with 119 others in various stages of development across the Visayas and Mindanao.
CLI last month raised P4.3 billion from its preferred shares offering, its first fundraising activity since its stock market debut in June 2017. Proceeds will be used to bankroll the development of upcoming projects.
The company also recently partnered with Japanese real estate firm NTT UD Asia Pte Ltd. to develop a P6.4-billion residential complex in Cebu City.
CLI expects the first of two towers to be opened in the fourth quarter of this year.