Cebu Landmasters income up 34%, to P1.1B in first half

LISTED developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) reported that its consolidated net income after tax for the first six months of 2019 jumped 34 percent to P1.109 billion from P826 million in the same period last year.

Consolidated revenues also increased by 34 percent to P3.495 billion from P2.61 billion.

Growth in revenues was primarily driven by its mid-market residential segment, representing 35 percent. This was followed by the premier projects which accounted for 33 percent while the economic housing Casa Mira segment contributed 29 percent. Parent net income reached P855 million in the first half, a 13 percent increase from P759 million in the same period last year. This translates to earnings per share of P0.51 for the period.

CLI said the highest revenue growth was posted by its highend market projects, primarily the New York-inspired 38 Park Avenue development within the Cebu IT Park in Cebu City.

In terms of location, projects in Cebu—where the company maintains a strong presence— represent 61 percent of the total revenues, followed by developments in Bacolod and Dumaguete which contribute 16 percent and nine percent, respectively.

CLI attributed this strong performance to its industry-recognized, on-time construction methods that facilitate the timely turnover of units.

CLI’s consolidated reservation sales in the first half remain robust at P5.263 billion from P5.187 billion in the previous year.

Reservation sales

The highest reservation sales came from projects in Davao.

Developments in Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Bacolod cities also reported high reservation sales in the first half. Projects in expansion areas also drove growth in reservation sales.

CLI said more projects are set to be launched in new expansion cities including the rollout of its fastest selling brand Casa Mira in Iloilo, Dumaguete, Bacolod and Bohol in the second half of 2019.

The company expects these new projects to enable CLI to achieve its 2019 target of P12.5 billion in reservations sales.

Another growth segment in CLI’s portfolio is leasing, which reported a 16 percent hike in revenues to P27.7 million from P23.87 million in the same period a year ago.

The company attributed this improved revenue performance to increases in gross leasable area (GLA) after the recent turnover of retail areas in Casa Mira Towers Labangon and Base Line Center developments in Cebu City.

Total company GLA as of the first half of 2019 is at 11,815.15-square-meters (sqm). With 69,234 sq.m of GLA under construction, CLI appears on track to complete its planned total GLA of 200,000 sq.m by 2023.

Hotel expansion

To further grow its income from recurring business, CLI plans to expand its hotel portfolio to over 1,100 rooms by 2023 through a strategic alliance with serviced residence owner operator The Ascott Limited.

Its first hotel project Citadines Cebu City will be opening in September of this year.

CLI also partnered with Radisson Hotel Group for the first Radisson Red in the Philippines which will be located at the Astra Centre in Mandaue City.

“Cebu Landmasters has rapidly expanded in its current areas. It is also preparing to launch projects in new Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin) cities in the second half of 2019. Our first township, DGT in Davao, is already underway and we have recently disclosed our partnership with Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan for a 63.5-hectare University township. We foresee that the volume and diversity of developments, backed by our growing pipeline, will empower us to consistently hit our targets,” said CLI president and chief executive officer Jose Soberano III.

To date, CLI has a total of 1,131,771 sq.m of land in 10 key VisMin cities. Part of its recent acquisitions is an existing resort in Mactan, Cebu with 18,000 sq.m of land area. The said resort will be re-developed and integrate a residential component.