Thursday, September 24, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
DAVAO CITY — Landco Pacific Corp., a major developer of upscale leisure and residential communities, has surpassed its sales target for the first half by over a tenth despite a slowdown in the domestic economy.
The company performed well in its Visayas and Mindanao projects, a company statement said. Landco’s projects in Mindanao are Playa Azalea in Samal and Woodridge Garden Village in Zamboanga City.
The 33-hectare Playa Azalea is the fifth resort development project of Landco, with 522 lots for sale. It also includes a hotel complex with 400 meters of private white sand beach. The company also sells memorial park lots here as well as in Zamboanga, General Santos, and Cagayan de Oro.
The company earned P1.949 billion, or P196 million more than the P1.753-billion benchmark for the first six months. Sales from the Visayas and Mindanao amounting to P497 million were higher by a third over the P368-million target for the period.
Alfred Xerez-Burgos III, Landco president, said the positive sales performance of the company showed that people still put premium on quality over price.
"This also shows that the market continues to trust and value what Landco developments offer to its homeowners," he said.
In other categories, leisure developments were up P427 million while sales of memorial parks rose to P287 million.
Mr. Xerez-Burgos earlier said people have realized that real estate was a better investment vehicle than the volatile stock market. "At this point, when those who have money to invest may be afraid to put it in riskier vehicles, real estate becomes the safer investment. It’s a tangible asset that won’t go anywhere and will surely appreciate," he said. — J. B. Escovilla
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