Condo sales lift Rockwell Land profits

ROCKWELL Land Corp. posted doubledigit profit growth last year, following improved condominium sales and more project completions.

In a regulatory filing, the Lopez-led company said its net income attributable to the parent stood at P2.11 billion in 2017, 16% higher than the P1.82 billion it posted in the year before.

The profit increase was supported by a 12.5% growth in revenues to P14.3 billion, bulk of which came from the company’s residential component or P12.6 billion. This also marked a 12% increase from the segment’s P11.04-billion revenue contribution in 2016.

“The 12% increase in this segment’s revenue was largely influenced by higher bookings of the Proscenium projects, and with higher construction accomplishment for Edades Suites and Rockwell Primaries’ The Vantage,” the company said.

Rockwell recorded reservation sales of P11.6 billion during the year, slightly lower than 2016’s P11.8 billion. The Proscenium, its luxury condominium development offering units priced at P7.9 million to P130 million each, drove the reservation sales for the year, alongside The Vantage, a two-tower mixed use project housing high-end condominium units.

The Lopez-led developer launched only one project last year, called The Arton along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City. The three-tower residential development, which features 1,700 units, booked P1.6 billion in sales by the end of December.

Rockwell Land’s commercial development business — including office sales, commercial leasing, and cinema operations — contributed P1.4 billion to last year’s revenues, up by 7% year- on-year. The company attributed the increase to the higher occupancy at its office tower, 8 Rockwell in Makati City. The listed firm is currently expanding its Power Plant Mall in Makati City by 5,600 square meters, resulting in a 3% drop in retail operations for the period. Revenues from cinema operations also dipped by 4% due to fewer blockbuster movies and ticket price increases.

Revenues from hotel operations, derived from Aruga Serviced Apartments, slipped by 10% to P312.7 million last year, after Rockwell Land dropped the operations of Aruga at The Grove.

Rockwell Land reported an actual spending of P11.8 billion for capital expenditures last year, lower than the P14 billion it has originally allotted for 2017. The capex went to the development of Proscenium, the expansion of PowerPlant Mall, RBC Sheridan, and Santolan Town Plaza.

Shares in Rockwell Land dropped seven centavos or 3.55% to close at P1.90 each at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.