Friday, 16 April 2010 00:00 [ manilatimes.net ]
BY KRISTA ANGELA M. MONTEALEGRE Reporter
ROBINSONS Land Corp. (RLC) on Thursday said the growth outlook for its hotel and residential businesses was less upbeat than for its mall and office building divisions.
“Growth will be positive but not to the same extent as the mall and office-leasing segments,” Frederick Go, RLC president, said on the sidelines of the company’s stockholders’ meeting.
“The outlook for our mall business is bright because generally, consumer consumption is on an uptrend. In terms of office-leasing, the BPO market was quite weak in 2009, but in 2010 the market is rebounding,” he said, referring to the business process outsourcing industry.
Go said it would be difficult to predict the performance of their residential segment because of intensifying competition in the industry.
“Demand is good for [residential units] but supply is quite abundant as well,” he said.
The property unit of the Gokongwei group is spending P9 billion to finance the expansion of its residential and commercial properties. The capex would also be used to acquire land for mixed-use development.
Besides its residential and commercial businesses, RLC would also add Go Hotels, its chain of value hotels, to its portfolio.
Go said the first unit of the hotel, located at EDSA corner Pioneer Street in Mandaluyong City, will have its soft opening on May 19.
The company will build two new Go Hotels in Tacloban and Palawan near RLC’s commercial spaces.
Go Hotels will join other RLC brands, such as Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, Holiday Inn Galleria Manila in Ortigas Center, Cebu Midtown Hotel, and Summit Ridge Hotel Tagaytay.
In the commercial segment, RLC will also build two new malls in Palawan and Pangasinan this year while its newly constructed malls in Dumaguete, Ilocos Norte and Cebu will open in November.
A shopping mall will be built at its Magnolia property in Quezon City, which has an existing residential condominium project.
RLC’s consolidated net income for 2009 rose by 4 percent on the back of robust mall operations.
The property firm posted a net income of P3.27 billion last year as revenues hit P10.73 billion.
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