Wednesday, June 10, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
THE RESILIENCY of the middle-income housing market has pushed Andrew L. Tan-led Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. to allot a higher budget for the next five years.
At the sidelines of the firm’s stockholders’ meeting yesterday, Empire East President Anthony Charlemagne C. Yu said P8 billion to P10 billion would be spent until 2014. The P2-billion annual budget is higher than the P1.8 billion the company earmarked last year.
"I hope we will not have any inventory by yearend. Our sales remain very robust. [The first quarter of this year] turned out to be comparable to our best sales in [recent years]," Mr. Yu said.
Unlike other real estate companies, Mr. Yu said, Empire East is not dependent on the overseas Filipino market, as the segment accounts for only 2% to 3% of the company’s customers.
He pointed out that the middle market remains strong as most clients are "end-users" who buy a house not for investment but as a place to live in.
Reservation sales covering 634 units amounted to P1.6 billion during the first five months of the year, up by almost a third from last year. "Our reservation sales have been tremendous. [January to May] was better than last year," Mr. Yu said.
For this year, the company plans to start the construction of three "transit-oriented" projects, namely Pioneer Woodlands in Mandaluyong, Little Baguio Terraces in San Juan and San Lorenzo Place in Makati.
Empire East will also launch this year a 50-hectare project, The Sonoma in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The new project will have 1,148 prime lots in three residential phases.
Profits from January to March declined by 61.7% to P22.4 million because of the accounting policy that does not allow real estate firms to recognize revenues until completion of the project.
Shares in Empire East declined by 4.54% or P0.02 to P0.42 per share yesterday. — Kristine Jane R. Liu
_____________________________________________________________________________________
