CLI Jan-March income up to P1.2B

PROPERTY developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) on Friday reported netting P1.18 billion from January to March, up 5 percent from last year’s P1.12 billion, amid strong real estate sales during the quarter.

Consolidated revenues surged 31 percent to P6.24 billion from P4.78 billion, with real estate sales growing 28 percent to P5.45 billion from P4.25 billion in the same period of 2023.

The first-quarter growth was said to have resulted in a 15-percent increase in attributable net income to P978 million from P847 million.

“This quarter’s notable achievement strongly indicates that we are on track,” CLI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jose Soberano III said in a statement.

“Our consistently strong sales performance in the preceding years, coupled with the significant progress in the construction of our projects, are our main contributors to our stellar performance,” he said.

Recent reservation sales totaled P7.18 billion, the company said, noting that the new project launches in the pipeline were expected to help sustain growth momentum throughout the year.

CLI’s hotel revenues jumped 37 percent in the first three months of 2024, driven by the opening of three hotels and the full operations of Citadines Cebu City.

With the hospitality industry in the Visayas and Mindanao continuing to get robust, Soberano said they were looking to “take advantage of this opportunity.”

The company spent P2.74 billion from January to March, with the bulk, or P2.43 billion, earmarked for residential development. For 2024, it has programmed P14.5 billion for capital spending.

Currently, CLI has P27.7 billion worth of projects in the pipeline, which include residential developments with Japanese partner NTT UD Asia Pte. Ltd. as well as condominium towers in Cagayan de Oro.

“We are committed to expanding our footprint around the country. We will soon introduce our first project in General Santos, and we continuously work on land acquisition initiatives in Luzon,” Soberano added.

Last month, CLI successfully raised P4.28 billion via a followon public offering, the proceeds of which would be used to support its strategic expansion initiatives and ongoing project developments.

The company’s shares on Friday closed 1.08 percent lower to P2.75 apiece amid a 0.47-percent downtick for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.