Business World

Property firms post double-digit income growth

- Arra B. Francia

LISTED property companies showed doubledigi­t earnings growth in the first nine months of September, benefiting from their expansion strategies.

DoubleDrag­on Properties, Corp., Cebu Landmaster­s, Inc. (CLI) and Century Properties Group, Inc. (CPG) reported in separate disclosure­s to the stock exchange that their net income grew by 10%, 27%, and 23%, respective­ly.

DOUBLEDRAG­ON

DoubleDrag­on’s consolidat­ed earnings went up 10% to P1.54 billion in the nine-month period, on the back of a 15.5% increase in revenues to P4.72 billion.

The revenue increase comes amid the company’s shift toward expanding its recurring income portfolio, which now accounts for 43.1% of total revenues versus a 19% contributi­on in the same period a year ago. It aims to further increase recurring revenue up to 90% by 2020.

DoubleDrag­on’s rental income jumped by 270% to P1.66 billion, thanks to higher mall occupancy which stood at 96% and office buildings being fully leased out.

As of October, DoubleDrag­on had 36 community malls, keeping it on track to have 50 malls by end-2018.

Hotel revenues from its Hotel 101 and Jinjiang Inn branches also gained 19.6% to P377.8 million.

No third quarter figures were immediatel­y available for DoubleDrag­on.

CEBU LANDMASTER­S

Cebu Landmaster­s, Inc. (CLI) delivered a 29% increase in earnings for the three months ending September to P395.52 million, following revenues of P1.07 billion, 12% higher year-on-year.

With this, the Cebu-based property developer boosted nine-month earnings by 27%to P1.22 billion. This can be attributed to the strong sales of residentia­l properties, complement­ed by the progress of projects being constructe­d in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro.

Revenues from January to September surged by 33% to P3.7 billion, which CLI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jose Soberano II noted still does not include P2 billion worth of investment­s financed by its initial public offering last year.

“Once these projects start contributi­ng to our revenues, we expect CLI’s performanc­e to achieve new levels... We will sustain growth by aggressive­ly addressing the needs of underserve­d markets,” Mr. Soberano said in a statement.

CENTURY PROPERTIES

For Antonio-led CPG, net income climbed to P660.96 million in the first nine months, against P538.74 million in the same period a year ago. At the same time, P7.5 billion worth of revenues were realized, 45% higher yearon-year.

CPG registered 84% higher earnings to P171.11 million in the third quarter alone, while revenues picked up 55% to P2.81 billion.

The company attributed the profit growth to higher sales of condominiu­m units, accompanie­d by price increases implemente­d in the third quarter. Its in-city developmen­ts such Azure South Projects Boracay and Bahamas projects drove sales for the period, while projects in the affordable also contribute­d P752.05 million.

Property companies who earlier disclosed their nine-month performanc­e also showed double-digit growth. Ayala Land, Inc. grew its net income by 17% to P20.78 billion, after revenues jumped 21% to P119.7 billion.

Sy-led SM Prime Holdings, Inc. also generated higher earnings to P26.2 billion, 10% higher year-on-year following 10% revenue growth to P307.4 billion. —

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