[ Malaya.com.ph ] April 30, 2009
Realty firm Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) eyes the launch of 29 new projects this year, confident of continuing bullishness in the socialized and middle-income housing market.
Another property firm, Anchor Land Holdings Inc. (Anchor Land) said its net income more than doubled in 2008 at P236 million, from P103 million the year before, on the strength of its focus on the Chinese-Filipino market.
FLI president Joseph M. Yap said the projects are estimated to bring P7.4 billion in revenues on expenditures of P5.3 billion, about 30 percent higher than the P4.1 billion spent by the company last year.
The company is bucking the general economic outlook after sales reservations in the first two months of the year posted a 13.04 percent increase at P1.3 billion from P1.15 billion last year.
"The growth will continue to be driven by the mass housing market. We continue to enjoy robust sales from our projects. About 70-80 percent of our projects are marketed to the socialized to middle-income market," Yap.
"Most of our customers are first-time home buyers and, therefore, their purchase of a house is more of a need rather than a want, and it is the dream of every Filipino family to own their own house," he added. About 30 percent of the company’s portfolio is located in the provinces.
Ten of the 29 new launches will be new projects, concentrated primarily in the greater Manila area, according to Yap.
The company is also set to construct its very first high-rise project, Linear in Makati,
Linear will have two 23-story residential towers connected by a podium for commercial spaces. It will offer 1,734 affordable residential condominium units. Groundbreaking is set for December with completion eyed in 2012.
FLI closed 2008 with a P1.87 billion net income, a 10 percent increase from the previous year’s P1.7 billion.
Real estate sales reached P3.51 billion, up 11 percent.
Socialized housing accounted for 17 percent of total sales (P580 million), while the affordable segment contributed 19 percent (P659 million). Middle income housing contributed 39 percent (P1.4 billion) while the high-end segment contributed 24 percent (P853 million.)
As of end-2008, FLI had a total of 71 on-going projects.
Anchor Land’s revenues grew nearly threefold at P1.36 billion from P487 million. Consolidated total assets were at P2.717 billion, up 35 percent from P2.012 billion.
"While 2008 will generally be considered a challenging year for most industry players owing to the economic slowdown, Anchor Land Holdings is proud of the fact that we not only survived the crisis but, more significantly, posted record growth and profitability that has set new standards in the Philippine real estate sector," said Anchor Land chairman Stephen Lee.
Lee said the "significant surge in revenues" came from the higher number of units sold and higher project completion percentage.
He said the company "continues to enjoy steady support from its niche market, while tapping into new segments that are equally lucrative."
Anchor Land recently completed its second luxury condominium, the 33-story Mayfair Tower on UN avenue in Manila. Its third, Mandarin Square (under its subsidiary Manila Towers Development Corp.), was 52.86 percent complete by the end of the year.
"Likewise, we broke ground and began selling our fourth project, the Solemare Parksuites, in December," Lee said.
"I convey the board’s appreciation to all our customers and investors who have consistently placed their confidence on Anchor Land Holdings Inc. as we pursue our mission to provide high quality condominium living to a very discerning clientele. We remain committed to deliver and to meet the loftiest of market expectations, in 2008 and in the years to come," he said.
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