(Source: Manila Times | 10 November 2016)
Property giant Megaworld Corporation posted an 11 percent rise in net income in the first nine months of the year on higher rental income from its office and commercial retail businesses.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Megaworld said its net income in the nine-month period increased to P9.27 billion from the P8.35 billion recorded in the previous year.
Consolidated revenues in the first three quarters climbed by 5 percent to P35.26 billion from P33.53 billion a year ago.
The company attributed the earnings growth to its expanded office and commercial retail portfolio as it registered a 15 percent increase in rental income to P7.41 billion from P6.44 billion last year.
“During the past months, Megaworld has opened new malls and commercial centers in its various integrated urban townships, particularly Uptown Bonifacio, McKinley Hill, Forbes Town Center, Iloilo Business Park, The Mactan Newtown, and Twin Lakes; and new office towers in McKinley West, Uptown Bonifacio, The Mactan Newtown, and Iloilo Business Park,” the company said.
Apart from its recurring-income projects, the company said it also expanded its hotel portfolio as it introduced a new brand, Belmont Hotel, which launched its first hotel in Newport City late last year.
For its residential business, Megaworld recently announced that it would build a P1.5-billion residential tower at its 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park township called Saint Honore.
“Our fundamentals remain strong and we are happy to see that our anticipated aggressive growth in our rental businesses continues,” said Megaworld treasurer Francis Canuto.
“What we are now witnessing is the transition of Megaworld from being just a builder into becoming a landlord.
This means that the company will be insulated from any cyclicality from the residential business while having steady or even higher growth moving forward,” Canuto added.
Earlier this year, Megaworld launched another integrated urban township, the 140-hectare Maple Grove in General Trias, Cavite.
“The development’s master plan is to have an eclectic mix of residential, office, retail, and institutional components in an environment friendly community,” Megaworld has said.
At present, the company has a total of 21 townships across the country spanning around 3,061 hectares in total land area. A total of 2,807 hectares are located in provincial areas while 254 hectares are Metro Manila-based townships.
Megaworld said it is set to launch another township before the year ends to bring its total number of townships to 22 by the end of 2016.
– By Catherine Talavera
Read more: http://www.manilatimes.net/megaworld-net-income-rises-11-p9-27b/295716/
