Sta. Lucia allots P15 billion for capex

STA. LUCIA Land, Inc. (SLI) is strengthening its presence nationwide as it plans to spend P15 billion in the next three to five years to develop its existing properties.

In a statement issued Monday, the listed real estate developer said the capital expenditure will cover the development of retail, commercial, and tourism- related projects that would complement its residential communities.

“SLI intends to tap both the debt and equity markets to partially finance this growth,” the company said.

In the last two years, SLI has already raised over P8 billion in unsecured long term debt.

The company has been beefing up its land bank since 2015 through the acquisition of around 658 hectares of land, and joint venture deals covering 991 hectares. This covers properties in Pangasinan, Bulacan, Marikina, Quezon City, Pasig City, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon province, Palawan, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Cebu, Zamboanga City, General Santos City, and Davao.

To date, SLI and its parent company Sta. Lucia Realty & Development, Inc. have 220 developments spanning around 10,000 hectares of land across the country.

SLI recently poured in P400 million to P500 million for the development of a 67- hectare master planned lake residential community in Silay, Negros Occidental.

The property developer’s net income attributable to the parent climbed 15% to P276 million in the second quarter of 2017, amid a 2.76% decline in revenues to P1.02 billion for the period. This brought the company’s first half earnings to P477 million, 11% up year on year from revenues of P1.8 billion.

Shares in SLI were unchanged at P1.03 at the close of the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday. —