Megaworld reports strong condo sales, BPO rentals

Property developer Megaworld Corp. said net income in the nine months through September hit P6.55 billion, up by 15 percent from the same period last year, bolstered by sales from its residential projects and office rentals, a stock exchange filing showed on Wednesday.

Megaworld said in its disclosure that total revenues during the period rose 12 percent to P26.68 billion. Reservation sales, an indicator of future revenues, hit P56 billion, up 20 percent, for the group, which includes Empire East Land Holdings Inc. and Suntrust Home Developers Inc.

The company, led by billionaire Andrew Tan, also plans to launch more mixed-use township projects while ramping up its retail and office developments, which have so far been supported by the booming business process outsourcing sector.

Gains in the first half came after it launched 18 projects, including 10 residential projects in Eastwood City, Fort Bonifacio, Araneta Center in Metro Manila as well as projects in Cebu and Iloilo. The company also reported no damage to its projects in Cebu and Iloilo following Typhoon Yolanda, a company spokesman said.

Tan said in a statement that the company plans to launch next year a P35-billion township development called Woodside City near Eastwood City along C-5 in Pasig.

“The 14-hectare Woodside City will showcase thousands of trees. We have also commissioned world-renowned architect Skidmore Owings and Merrill to design the first two sustainable office buildings,” Tan said.

Rental income from BPO office developments was another area where Megaworld, considered the country’s biggest developer and operator of office space, is seeking to expand further. Income in this segment hit P4.34 billion, up 20 percent during the nine-month period, the filing showed.

“We will fast-track our BPO office developments and lifestyle malls to support the growing demands of the BPO industry and the retail consumers. This will enable us to make 2014 a record year in terms of rental income,” Tan said.

By the end of 2013, the company expects to have more than half a million square meters of net leasable area for office space in its portfolio with the completion of towers 3 and 4 of McKinley Hill Science Hub, the Venice Corporate Center and towers A, B and C of 8 Campus Place Tower. These projects are all located in Megaworld’s McKinley Hill township.

Megaworld claims to have pioneered the township concept in the Philippines. These communities have emerged in strategic locations all over Metro Manila and in urban centers such as Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu and Iloilo City.