Filinvest Land Q1 income plunges 25%

FILINVEST Land Inc. saw its Januaryto-March net income attributable to equity holders of the parent slide by 25 percent to P1.35 billion from P1.79 billion year-on-year.

Its gross revenues also declined to P5.15 billion in the period, a 29-percent decrease from P7.21 billion in the same period last year.

In a disclosure, the listed property arm of Filinvest Development Corp. said the first-quarter results were impacted by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed in mid-March to control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019, which affected operations and delayed construction activities.

Delays in the completion of projects during the ECQ and lower sales takeup in 2019 pushed Filinvest Land’s real estate sales revenues down by 39 percent in the period.

It said that, prior to the ECQ, it launched three projects worth P2.1 billion in Cainta, Rizal; Zamboanga; and Filinvest City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

The corporation plans to launch P13.4 billion worth of residential projects this year.

Meanwhile, its first-quarter rental revenues inched up by 4 percent to P1.79 billion from P1.72 billion in 2019. The growth was attributed to the increase in office leasing, which offset the decline in retail mall revenues.

Most malls of Filinvest Land were closed during the ECQ, while its office buildings still saw high occupancy rates and remained operational.

The company also waived rents for establishments that did not operate during the lockdown.

“We will prioritize the completion of projects that are already under construction and projects that address the immediate needs of our clients and home buyers. We will be launching residential projects and selectively expand in new territories within the country,” Filinvest Land Chief Executive Officer and President Josephine Gotianun-Yap said in the disclosure.

She added that her company had moved a large part of its planned launches to 2021, but reiterated it could easily accelerate them should market demand improve.

It has also allocated resources for the completion of additional office buildings, as well as the Filinvest Innovation Park in New Clark City, Tarlac.

“We have reconfigured our processes to maximize the use of digital technology that we have implemented in the past to service the needs of our clients and our suppliers. Meanwhile, we are also preparing for the economy’s eventual recovery,” Yap said.

Shares of Filinvest Land ended flat at 93 centavos each on Thursday.