Published : Tuesday, November 01, 2011 00:00 [ manilatimes.net ]
Written by : KRISTA ANGELA M. MONTEALEGRE REPORTER
AYALA Land Inc. said it was on track with its target launches this year, driven by strong domestic and overseas demand despite concerns of a global slowdown.
Bobby Dy, ALI executive vice president and head of the residential group, told reporters that Filipinos in Europe, particularly in Italy and Milan, remain very bullish and immune from the slowdown.
“If you see our launches for the year, the sales have been good to basically allow us to move or launch that many units as we originally planned,” said Dy, adding that sales performance hadbeen “according to plan.”
Overseas sales account for 20 percent of ALI’s total sales.
ALI set up an office overseas two weeks ago in Europe to reach out to more foreign-based Filipinos, bringing the company’s sales offices in the region to three.
ALI has doubled the volume of its residential launches this year to 20,000 units on the back of continued demand for property projects amid a favorable financing environment.
Given the depreciation of the pound and the euro against the peso, Dy said Filipinos in Europe may opt for lower priced products in the market, adding that ALI’s presence in four market segments allowed the company to serve a wider range of customers.
The property giant has four residential brands that serve up to 37 percent of the population. They are luxury brand Ayala Land Premier with price points ranging from P7 million to P20 million; high-end brand Alveo, from P3.5 million to P7 million; middle-income brand Avida, from P1.2 million to P3.5 million; and affordable brand Amaia, from P600,000 to P1.2 million.
Amaia, which serves 33 percent of the market, accounts for half of ALI’s target launches this year—a scenario the company expects in the next few years.
“When you look at the market, the bulk is in these brands, Amaia and the brand we’ll be launching in November and that’s because of the economic structure,” said Dy.
ALI is set to launch a fifth brand that will offer socialized housing products below P400,000, allowing the property giant to serve the hugely untapped socialized housing segment, which accounts for half of the 3.7 million housing backlog.
ALI has spent P12.5 billion of its projected P33-billion capital expenditure budget this year, but the company said its capex will accelerate further in the second half in line with the project launch schedule.
The strong performance of its property development and commercial leasing businesses lifted ALI’s net income to P3.38 billion in the first six months, 35 percent higher than the P2.51 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Its shares added P0.38 to close at P16.16 each on Friday.
______________________________________________________________
