Vol. XXII, No. 81 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Monday, November 17, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
SM DEVELOPMENT Corp. (SMDC) is unfazed by the threats posed by the US-led economic slowdown on profits, amid spending cuts and project postponements by some of its rivals.
In a statement yesterday, the Sy-owned property developer said it had started building the fifth of six clusters of the 4.8-hectare Chateau Elysée in Parañaque City.
Development of the seven-storey, four-building cluster Vendome — the biggest condominium project in the country so far — will cost P350 million and is expected to be turned over to buyers by November next year.
The new cluster will be housing 560 units composed of one- and two-bedroom units with a floor area of 24 to 48 square meters, respectively. The units will cost P1.2 million to P3.5 million.
The SM group’s real estate arm said construction of the last cluster Seine would start in the second quarter of next year. It expects to finish the project two years from now.
The P2.2-billion Chateau Elysée, a French Mediterranean-themed condominium village, will have 2,696 units with 24 mid-rise buildings.
SMDC said the first three clusters — Lafayette, Concorde and Eiffel — had been sold out, while almost three-quarters of the 504-unit Ritz have been bought.
Chateau Elysée offers 70% of its total land area for landscaped gardens and amenities such as a two-storey clubhouse, 25-meter lap pool and jogging trail.
The condominium village is just five minutes away from SM City Bicutan and 15 minutes away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Makati central business district.
"High market demand for high-quality real estate products, affordable prices over flexible payment terms and assurance of on-time and fast turnover contributed to the company’s robust sales performance," said Gilbert C. Ang, SMDC assistant vice-president and project director of Chateau Elysée.
On Saturday, SMDC delivered the Ritz units to more than 300 buyers — mostly people who are just starting a family, families of Filipinos working overseas and foreign expatriates.
Property analysts earlier said there is still a strong demand for completed projects especially for mid-rise condominium units whose turnover is faster compared with high-rise buildings.
Aside from Chateau Elysée, SMDC’s other residential condominium projects include Mezza Residences, Grass Residences and Berkeley Residences in Quezon City; Sea Residences in Pasay City; Wind Residences in Tagaytay City; and one residential subdivision, Lindenwood Residences in Muntinlupa City.
It is planning to launch two new residential condominium projects before the year ends — Princeton Residences in Quezon City and Tree Residences in Cainta, Rizal.
The company said it would start building the 7.8-hectare Field Residences in Parañaque City next week, SMDC’s biggest condominium project in terms of land area.
Field Residences is expected to be completed five years from now and will be composed of 10 buildings.
The Sy-led company’s net income stood at P12.5 million in the third quarter, a turnaround from a net loss of P341 million a year earlier. This brought nine-month profits to P642 million, five times higher than last year, as sales from January to September more than doubled to P2.9 billion.
The company earlier said it was closely monitoring the global arena to allow it to make the necessary adjustments. SMDC shares were flat at P2 apiece on Friday.
Meanwhile, Sobrepena-led Fil-Estate Land, Inc. said it had partnered with SMDC to develop a mixed-use project in Nasugbu, Batangas known as Harbortown. It declined to provide details.
Fil-Estate has also partnered with the Ayala group to develop 140,000 square meters of land into an information technology campus for lease in Quezon City. Details of the project were still unavailable.
Shares of Fil-Estate Land settled at 26 centavos apiece on Friday. — Kristine Jane R. Liu
