Filinvest Land income falls 24% in first 6 months

FILINVEST Land Inc. (FLI) registered a 24-percent drop in its first-half net profit to P2.42 billion from P3.04 billion year- on- year as quarantine measures delayed its construction activities.

In a filing on Wednesday, the listed property arm of Filinvest Development Corp. posted a 30-percent decline in gross revenues to P8.81 billion in the period from P12.62 billion last year.

The first-semester results, it said, reflect the full impact of the enhanced community quarantine ( ECQ) the government imposed in mid-March to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country.

“The second quarter was a most difficult time for the company, with [the] ECQ limiting the operations of our malls and construction restrictions affecting residential revenue recognition,” FLI President and Chief Executive Officer Josephine Gotianun-Yap was quoted as saying in the filing.

“Despite the challenges, we prioritized easing the burden of our customers by providing payment grace periods or rental relief. Our past efforts in process improvement and digitalization allowed us to operate efficiently and effectively during this period as we continued to serve our customers,” she added.

Rental revenues improved by 1 percent to P3.42 billion in January to June, with the growth in office leasing offsetting the decline in retail mall revenues.

Revenues from real estate sales sank by 46 percent to P4.56 billion on the back of lower sales takeup and a delay in revenue recognition on account of construction restrictions during the quarantine.

Despite not having launched any residential project in the second quarter, FLI said it looked to introduce P11.3 billion worth of residential projects for the rest of the year.

FLI is set to implement a twopronged strategy in the second half that includes expanding its investment property portfolio and prudent residential development focusing on the end-user, affordable and middleincome markets.

FLI shares added 1 centavo or 1.19 percent to end at 85 centavos each on Thursday.