[ manilastandardtoday.com ] October 14, 2010
by Jenniffer B. Austria
Condominium builder Megaworld group sold P36.6 billion worth of real estate projects in the first nine months of the year, up 81 percent from P20.2 billion in reservation sales registered for the whole of 2009.
The Megaworld group comprises three brands catering to different market segments, namely Megaworld, Empire East and Suntrust.
Megaworld said in a disclosure Wednesday to the stock exchange that the company contributed P29.7 billion to the group’s nine-month sales.
Megaworld registered the sales from residential projects in Metro Manila, including Eastwood City, McKinley Hill, Newport City and Manhattan Garden City.
Megaworld’s sister companies, Empire East Land Holdings Inc. and Suntrust Properties Inc., meanwhile, posted combined sales of P6.9 billion in January to September. Empire East and Suntrust focus on medium-cost and affordable housing units, respectively. Both developers have projects in Metro Manila and in the nearby growth centers of Cavite and Laguna provinces.
The Megaworld Group attributed the strong sales growth to a superior project portfolio and a track record in the Philippine property market.
Megaworld, the premier residential developer in the Philippines, pioneered the development of community townships that incorporate the live-work-play-learn concept. The company has six ongoing projects within Metro Manila and several residential development within the Makati Central Business District, including Eastwood City in Quezon City, McKinley Hill, McKinley West and Bonifacio Uptown in Fort Bonifacio, and Newport City in Pasay City.
Megaworld was the first to develop an information technology park in the Philippines through its project in Eastwood City, which provides a 24x7 work environment to business process operations that serve the global market. With the success of Eastwood City, Megaworld expanded its portfolio to McKinley Hill, which now home to some of the biggest names in the BPO industry.
The company will have close to 385,000 square meters of office space in its portfolio by the end of 2010.
Share price of Megaworld closed P0.09 higher Wednesday to P2.33.
Megaworld posted a net income of P2.24 billion in the first half of 2010, up 12 percent on year, as consolidated revenues rose 6 percent to P9.29.
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