Ayala Land nets P20B

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. breached the P20-billion profit milestone last year, as the double-digit expansion in earnings from residential development and mall operations brought net profit to a new record.

ALI grew its net profit last year by 19 percent to P20.9 billion. The growth is in line with ALI’s “Vision 2020,” a roadmap unveiled in 2014. Under this, ALI aims to grow net profit by 20 percent yearly to breach the P40-billion mark by 2020.

For the fourth quarter alone, net profit rose by 22 percent year-on-year to P5.8 billion, driven by a 22-percent year-on-year rise in revenue to P39 billion.

For the full year, consolidated revenue reached P124.6 billion, 16 percent higher on the back of the stable growth of its property development business, balanced with the steady performance of its leasing portfolio.

In a statement on Wednesday, ALI president and chief executive officer Bernard Vincent Dy said: “2016 marked another banner year for Ayala Land. We achieved a higher level of profitability coming from the sustained growth of our estates and core businesses.”

Property development revenue grew by 17 percent to P79.2 billion,driven by the steady traction of its residential and office for sale segments, complemented with commercial and industrial lot sales.

Revenue from residential development alone grew by 11 percent to P69.5 billion.

Commercial leasing revenue grew by 8 percent to P26.6 billion as ALI continued to expand its portfolio of malls, offices, and hotels and resorts.

ALI launched P61.5-billion worth of residential and office products last year through its five residential brands such as Ayala Land Premier, Alveo, Avida, Amaia and BellaVita. Residential sales take-up grew by 3 percent to P108 billion.

The company also posted a 12-percent growth in mall revenue to P15. billion, attributed to the stellar performance of its mature malls like Glorietta, Greenbelt, Market!Market! and Trinoma, as well as the contribution of its new malls such as Solenad and UP Town Center.

At end-2016, ALI had a shopping mall portfolio of 1.62 million square meters (sqm) in gross leasable space. The inventory was boosted by new malls like Ayala Malls Legaspi and Ayala Malls South Park and the 55,920-sqm Tutuban Center in Manila as a result of ALI’s acquisition of majority interest in Prime Orion Philippines Inc. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA