Monday, November 09, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Listed Araneta Properties, Inc. reported a significant increase in nine-month profits following the sale of more land from a joint venture with another property firm.
Araneta Properties earned P4.57 million from July to September, a turnaround from a net loss of P353 million. This brought January to September profits to P25.27 million or a nearly three-fold increase from P10.33 million posted in the same period last year.
Revenues also grew by 8% to P91 million during the nine-month period. A huge bulk came from the sale of lots from its joint venture project with Sta. Lucia Realty & Development, Inc.
“As of September, Araneta Properties continues to sell its properties in its joint venture with Sta. Lucia. The total land for sale and development covers a land area of 2.48 million square meters,” Araneta Properties said.
Araneta Properties was originally incorporated as a mining company but stopped smelter operations in January 1996 because of the depressed ferrochrome market and rising production costs.
Later that year, the company changed its primary purpose of business to land and property development, maintaining smelter operations as a secondary purpose.
The company has a joint venture with Sta. Lucia Realty to develop Araneta Properties’ asset in San Jose del Monte in Bulacan into a masterplanned project, with a high-end residential and commercial subdivision and a country club.
Araneta Properties and Sta. Lucia Realty are planning to go into a third phase of development involving residential lots.
San Jose del Monte, the largest city in the province of Bulacan, is located at the edge of Metro Manila.
Araneta Properties said the city enjoys a steady population growth rate of 5% per annum as many people migrate from the capital to find more affordable homes. “At present, it is considered as a bedroom community though we as landowners perceive it as an opportunity to perk up the development and create a new metropolis with its own sustainability,” it said.
“With development south of the Metro gearing up to be very congested and already high priced, the opportunities in the area are ever increasing,” it added.
The property company said future revenues would continue to come from its joint venture with Sta. Lucia Realty.
Shares in the Araneta Properties did not move at P0.49 apiece on Friday.
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