Cebu Landmasters income dips in Q1

Cebu Landmasters Inc., (CLI) a listed regional property developer, said its income in the first quarter declined by 8 percent to P648.5 million, from last year’s P701.6 million.

In the January-to-march period, CLI revenues grew 13 percent to P2.1 billion from last year's P1.86 billion, as real estate sales rose.

The increase in revenue was driven by sales from various segments and sustained construction of new developments alongside growing contributions from its expanding recurring business, the company said.

“We expect demand for quality housing and residential units to rise prompted by the greater desire for safer and better planned living environments in the aftermath of Covid-19," said Jose R. Soberano III, the company chairman and CEO.

“Over the years, CLI has built a reputation for offering great value to its buyers and is ideally positioned to serve this rising demand.”

In the first five months of the year, the company registered P4.8 billion in reservation sales take-up, which approximates the P5.26 billion recorded in the first half of 2019.

Its economic housing brand Casa Mira drove the P2-billion sales in April and May, a period widely regarded as having little economic activity due to the implementation of lockdown measures to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Over-all, CLI’S unsold inventory is down to only 10 percent of total inventory, it said.

The company said it will still launch projects worth some P19.4 billion this year as the housing backlog is evident in the Visayas and Mindanao. The company said it is expecting a performance guidance of a growth of about 10 percent from the previous year.

To fund these expansions, the company said it has secured P8 billion worth of corporate notes and several bilateral facilities with major banks, tailored per project.

CLI’S incremental cost of borrowing is between 3.8 percent to 4.2 percent for 5-, 7- and 10-year tenors.

“CLI is moving forward with both prudence and conviction. We will still be launching over 13 projects total this year, especially in key segments with sustained demand including economic vertical and horizontal housing," the company said.

“Vismin will recover faster, as restrictions have eased sooner with strong measures in place. There is sustained demand amidst a low supply environment in key Vismin cities, as evidenced by our P2 billion sales take-up over April to May.”