Posted on 10:05 PM, November 18, 2010 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
PROPERTY developers are enjoying higher earnings so far this year amid a boom in the sector, financial statements of listed real estate companies showed.
Andrew L. Tan-led Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. said profits grew to P24.99 million in the third quarter from P18.79 million last year.
“Consolidated net profit [in the nine months that ended in September] amounted to P80.1 million, 8% higher than the previous year’s net income,” the company said. “Consolidated revenues, composed of real estate sales, interest income, commissions and other revenues and net earnings of associates posted an increase of 1.7% to P1.65 billion,” it added.
Empire East, which was spun off in 1994 from property giant Megaworld Corp., caters to middle-income buyers.
San Miguel Properties, Inc. almost quadrupled its net income to P393.12 million in the third quarter, from P114.87 million the previous year.
For the nine-month period, the property developer more than tripled profits to P885.37 million from P248 million a year ago.
However, Highlands Prime, Inc., the high-end leisure property development firm of the Sy family, swung to a P3.85-million loss from a P17.29-million profit in the third quarter last year. Net income for the nine months that ended September slid to P428.44 million from P449.35 million last year due to lower sales.
Meanwhile, a jump in real estate operations allowed profits of Belle Corp. -- another high-end leisure developer controlled by mall tycoon Henry Sy and his family -- to grow by a tenth to P333.35 million during the nine-month period.
For the third quarter, higher sales hiked profits to P152.05 million, from P143.4 million last year.
Belle’s projects include Alta Mira, Lakeside Fairways, Lakeview Heights, Pinecrest Village, Plantation Hills, Tagaytay Highlands Golf Club, and The Woodlands, in Tagaytay and Batangas.
Meanwhile, Anchor Land Holdings, Inc. reported higher earnings in the third quarter, at P150.64 million, from P122.88 million last year.
Profits for the nine-month period also rose to P401.14 million from P308.58 million last year.
The property developer has built a niche market among Chinese-Filipinos, and the firm now wants to expand to the overseas Filipino market. -- Neil Jerome C. Morales
_____________________________________________________________
