Rental income made Eton resilient in 2020

Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. (EPPI) reported an 11 percent decline in net income to ₱802 million last year from ₱900 million in 2019 as higher rental income offset the adverse impact of the pandemic.

In a statement, Eton said gross revenues dropped 21 percent to ₱2.6 billion in 2020 from ₱3.3 billion in the previous year but noted a 2.9 percent growth in rental income to ₱1.76 billion last year, despite a global slowdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The growth in the company’s rental income was the result of office, commercial, and residential leasing revenue, as well as, hotel room sales.

“Eton has maintained a relatively stable performance from adjustments in strategies and prudence in the deployment of resources,” said Eton Properties President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Pascual.

“We were able to mitigate the adverse impacts of the pandemic early on, reason why we still attained an improvement of 11% on our gross profit margin,” added Eton Properties Chief Operating Officer, Karlu Tan Say.

After a respite due to quarantine restrictions, construction works for Eton Properties’ ongoing projects are now in full swing.

In 2020, the Company was able to complete Blakes Tower, a 36-storey office and residential building in Makati which will have 11,400 square meters of office space and 14,000 square meters of residential space.

Construction work has also resumed for Eton City Square 1 in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Once completed, it will add 7,200 square meters of gross leasable area to Eton Properties’ commercial leasing portfolio.

“We project new rental revenues from these projects, as we engage with pandemic-resistant tenants that offer essentials and medical services to locate in our properties,” said Eton Properties Executive Vice President Engr. Charlie Carlos.

With its pipeline of projects, Eton Properties is confident that it is well positioned to capture business opportunities as the economy rebounds, according to Engr. Carlos. (James A. Loyola)