Megaworld grows office business even during pandemic

ITY OF SAN FERNANDO---Megaworld, the

leading developer of integrated urban townships, posted a 34% drop in its net income during the first half of the year, from P8.9billion to P5.9-billion. Consolidated revenues for the first six months declined by 25% year-on-year to P23.8-billion from P31.7-billion last year.

The company, on the West and Uptown Bonifacio other hand, recorded P2.1billion in Taguig City, adding net profit during the around 213,000 square second quarter this year, a meters of completed 56% decline from P4.8-billion projects in the company’s during the same period leasable office portfolio. To last year, as the country was date, these projects are already reeling from the impact of 90% pre-leased on the nationwide lockdown the average. that affected most businesses. “Business process outsourcing (BPO) companies

“Just as the pandemic and traditional offices began in the last month of such as corporate headquarters the first quarter, we already of multinational anticipated a decline companies still occupy in our earnings in the second around 90% of our spaces, quarter, but what actually which still continued their surprised us was the operations even at the fact that the drop wasn’t as height of the lockdown. We bad as we have expected it are closing some deals to be, and it remains manageable. from many Metro Manilabased Our strategic decision BPO companies that of further strengthening require an immediate expansion our office leasing in our provincial business way before the townships due to eased pandemic started is now quarantine rules there. Our evidently making us more current portfolio of active resilient,” says Kevin L. Tan, BPO tenant partners is still chief strategy officer, huge, and these are our Megaworld. first-line takers in our provincial

Leasing revenues from developments,” Tan Megaworld Premier Offices, points out. the company’s office Megaworld is expected leasing arm, was up 10% to end the year with 70 during the first six months completed office developments from P5.1-billion last year covering 1.4 million to P5.6-billion during the square meters of leasable same period this year. Contribution office inventory, excluding of Megaworld Premier Offices now stands at 78% of the company’s total rental income, which mitigated the impact of partial operations of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls due to the pandemic.

This year, the company is set to complete construction of five new office developments in its various townships, particularly in Iloilo Business Park in Iloilo City, Arcovia City in Pasig City, Westside City in

Parañaque City, McKinley those that have already been sold.

Megaworld’s rental income for the first half of 2020 declined by only 11% at P7.2billion, while hotel revenues were down 29% to P917.9million from P1.3-billion. Megaworld Hotels, which currently operates 10 hotel properties with around 3,500 rooms under its homegrown brands of Richmonde, Belmont, Savoy, Hotel Lucky Chinatown, and Twin Lakes Hotels, continued serving prebooked guests from BPO companies as well as balikbayans during the lockdown.

Even as the lockdown limited selling activities for residential projects, Megaworld’s reservation sales during the first half of the year reached P38billion, which peaked during the second quarter when most parts of the country was placed under ‘enhanced community quarantine.’

Real estate sales during the first six months reached P14.3-billion, reflecting a 29% decline from P20.2billion during the same period last year, as the company implemented ‘more flexibility’ in payment terms during the quarantine period.

To date, Megaworld has 26 masterplanned integrated urban townships, integrated lifestyle communities, and lifestyle estates across the country, namely: Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City, (18.5 hectares); Newport City in Pasay City (25 hectares); McKinley Hill (50 hectares), McKinley West (34.5 hectares), Uptown Bonifacio (15.4 hectares) and Forbes Town (5 hectares), all in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City; Lucky Chinatown in Binondo, Manila (3 hectares); The Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu (30 hectares); Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City (72 hectares); Sta. Barbara Heights in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo (173 hectares); Boracay Newcoast in

Boracay Island (150 hectares); Twin Lakes in Alfonso, Batangas near Tagaytay (1,300 hectares); ArcoVia City in Pasig City (12.3 hectares); Southwoods City in the boundaries of Cavite and Laguna (561 hectares); Davao Park District in Lanang, Davao City (11 hectares); Alabang West in Las Piñas City (62 hectares); Eastland Heights in Antipolo, Rizal (640 hectares); Suntrust Ecotown in Tanza, Cavite (350 hectares); Maple Grove in General Trias, Cavite (140 hectares); The Hamptons

Caliraya in LumbanCavinti, Laguna (300 hectares); The Upper East (34 hectares) and Northill Gateway (50 hectares) both in Negros Occidental; Capital Town Pampanga beside the Pampanga Provincial Capitol in the City of San Fernando (35.6-hectares); Westside City in the Entertainment City in Paranaque City (31 hectares); Empire East Highland City in Antipolo, Rizal (24 hectares), Arden Botanical Estate in the boundaries of Trece Martires and Tanza, Cavite (251 hectares)