PH1 World Developers seen ripe for initial public offering by 2025

REAL ESTATE developer PH1 World Developers, Inc. (PH1) is expected to be ready to go public as early as 2025, according to its parent company Megawide Construction Corp.

“Around 2025 or 2026, PH1 will be ripe [for initial public offering],” Megawide Chairman Edgar B. Saavedra told reporters on Wednesday.

Listed infrastructure company Megawide acquired PH1 from Citicore Holdings Investment, Inc. in July for P5.2 billion to tap the properties market, as it aims to target affordable housing in the below-middle-income and middleincome levels.

If realized, PH1 would be Mr. Saavedra’s fourth publicly listed company.

According to Mr. Saavedra, PH1’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization or EBITDA is seen to hit about P5 billion by then, higher than the P2 to P3 billion EBITDA logged by Megawide.

He said that Megawide usually has high revenues but low margins when compared to PH1’s real estate business.

“Our business model is we normally do joint ventures so that it won’t be heavy in terms of capital. But when we have an IPO (initial public offering), it would change because the fundraising would be easier,” Mr. Saavedra said.

He also said that PH1 currently has about five projects and is expected to launch two projects every year.

“By 2026, we should have eight to ten projects with an order book of ten years. The inventory of units to sell will be valued at P200 billion in ten years,” Mr. Saavedra said.

“When we launch projects, our medium-rise developments are usually big with a minimum of five to ten projects,” he added.

In October, PH1 introduced two projects in the greater Manila area worth P10.6 billion: the horizontal housing Northscapes San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan and the high-rise development Modan Lofts Ortigas Hills in Taytay, Rizal.

The real estate developer also has other vertical developments such as The Hive Residences in Taytay, Rizal, as well as the My Enso Lofts condo in Quezon City. —