10/24/2011 [ tribune.net.ph ]
By Danessa O. Rivera
Considered a latecomer in an industry that has ridden debilitating boom-bust cycles, the worst of which is the Asian financial contagion in 1997, the Lucio Tan Group’s Eton Properties Philippines Inc. (EPPI), nonetheless, entered the industry at a much opportune time.
It was a time when developers were enjoying the brightest prospects in the industry that posted the highest growth among major industries in that year. Remittances from OFWs, who comprised a big chunk of the homebuyers market, also registered an all-time high, and so did the surge in demand for business process outsourcing (BPO) office spaces. Housing finance was also at its most accessible with the low interest regime having just started.
Today, four years hence, Eton Philippines remains as one of the country’s fastest growing real estate property firms. More than that, it has also established itself as one of the leading full range developers in the country — ambitiously and aggressively changing the country’s landscape through extraordinary and quality projects.
EPPI president Danilo Ignacio, who had been at the helm of the company since Day 1, said the company is proud of what it had achieved in the past few years since it started — launching a total of 43 distinctive projects in the Philippines encompassing residential, township, commercial and office developments in various growth areas in the country.”
For its projects that have “created an impact on the built environment in Southeast Asia,” EPPI has been recently recognized as one of the top 10 developers in the Philippines by Hong Kong-based BCI Asia Inc. Eton Properties is the youngest company among the 10 developer awardees.
“We are happy that as a four-year-old company, we are one of the 10 selected top developers in the country. This feat reaffirms our commitment to deliver world-class products to our customers, our credo this past four years,” said Ignacio.
For this year, the company is forecasting revenue and income to hit record levels after revenues increased 37 percent to P2.62 billion and net income rose by 10 percent to P417.9 million in the first half of 2011.
Revenue streams have been sourced from the from the higher recognition of sales due to the nearing completion of its initial high-rise projects such as The Eton Residences Greenbelt, Eton Parkview Greenbelt, One Archers Place West Tower, Belton Place, Eton Emerald Lofts, West Wing Residences and the first five clusters of The Manors of North Belton Communities, 68 Roces, South Lake Village at Eton City and Riverbend.
But according to Ignacio, “The company’s largest contributor of recurring income remains to be office space particularly BPO space, that is, especially with the rising demand for BPO talent in northern Metro Manila where most of Eton’s BPO developments are located.”
The first two buildings of Eton Cyberpod Centris in Eton Centris in Quezon City have been fully leased out and Eton Properties will proceed with the construction of two more BPO buildings in response to increasing office space demand. The first building, 13-story One Cyberpod Centris, has been fully leased out to some of the most successful BPO companies. Two Cyberpod Centris has been fully leased out to a Fortune 500 company.
Said Ignacio, “Two more BPO buildings — the 3rd and 4th Cyberpod Centris buildings — are at the development stage and are scheduled to be completed by end of 2012. These new spaces are expected to be pre-leased even before their turnover based on the current strong demand for office space.”
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