(Source: Philippine Star by Richmond Mercurio | May 28, 2015)
Upscale property developer Rockwell Land Corp. is nearly doubling its spending this year to P13 billion from last year’s P8.7 billion as it intends to ramp up development of office and retail properties to bolster the company’s recurring income streams.
In a briefing following the company’s annual stockholders meeting yesterday, Rockwell chief financial officer Ellen V. Almodiel said bulk of the budget this year would be used for the development of the company’s existing projects.
Almodiel said funding for the firm’s capital expenditures is already fully secured with only a little needed for possible fundraising.
“If ever there will be (fundraising), it would be at the latter part of the year depending on how new acquisitions will turn out,” she said.
Rockwell president Nestor Padilla said the company late last year signed two long-term lease agreements for office and retail properties expected to contribute some P500 million to the company’s annual income streams beginning 2017.
The two properties include 1.3 hectares in San Juan City and a one-hectare lot at the corner of United and Sheridan Streets in Mandaluyong City.
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Padilla said both projects are expected to add 68,000 square meters of leasable space to the company’s office and retail space portfolio upon completion.
He added that the projects are targeted for completion by 2017 and will cater primarily to the growing BPO industry.
Aside from the expansion of its office projects, Rockwell is also revitalizing its Power Plant Mall through an expansion seen to start by the middle of the year.
Padilla said the mall expansion woulds add 5,700 sqm of leasable space and two new cinemas to serve the growing needs of the Rockwell Center community.
For 2014, Rockwell’s commercial development revenue jumped 42 percent year-on-year behind robust contribution of the Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Business Center, 8 Rockwell and Aruga Serviced Apartments.
With the addition of Rockwell Business Center Tower 3 and 8 Rockwell – the company’s first premium office building within the Rockwell Center set to open by the fourth quarter of this year – revenues from commercial development are expected to increase substantially.
Padilla said 2015 started strong for Rockwell, as first quarter revenues surged 28 percent year-on-year to P1.8 billion.
“This year is turning out to be another hectic but promising one for us as we launch new projects and expand our current developments. We will see the launch of the fifth and final tower of The Proscenium by September. Phase 2 of our 32 Sanson project in Cebu will also be launched as we continue to explore further growth prospects and potentials in Cebu City. Then there’s the expansion of Power Plant Mall which will break ground this year and expected to add another 5,700 sqm of leasable space in the country’s premier upscale mall,” he said.
Rockwell’s revenue in 2014 registered an increase of 13 percent year-on-year to P8.9 billion.
“With consumer spending on the uptrend, the completion of the Proscenium Towers in a few years will be complemented by the construction of the Power Plant Mall expansion. With great demand from the office sector, we further strengthen our commercial portfolio with the completion of the third tower of the Rockwell Business Center in September 2014, while 8 Rockwell will be due for delivery within 2015. These two new towers will add a total of 53,000 sqm of gross leasable space, which has doubled the office portfolio starting this year,” Rockwell chairman Manuel M. Lopez said.
