Posted on
March 11, 2013 10:30:45 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
PROPERTY
DEVELOPER Robinsons Land Corp. expects to increase its leasing portfolio to
over one million square meters by yearend after opening four new provincial
malls worth a total of P6 billion in the fourth quarter, the company said in a
statement yesterday.
Robinsons
Place Isabela in Santiago City, Isabela will open in October, while Robinsons
Place Roxas in Roxas City, Capiz will open in November, the statement said,
adding that Robinsons Place Butuan in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte and
Robinsons Place Malolos in Malolos City, Bulacan will both open in December.
All in all,
the four new malls will bring the firm’s network to 36 establishments and add
approximately 102,500 square meters to the company’s gross leasable area (GLA)
to accommodate over 780 new tenants.
In
comparison, Robinsons Land opened three malls in 2012 (Robinsons Place
Pangasinan, Robinsons Place Palawan, and Robinsons Place Magnolia), redeveloped
Robinsons Metro East, and expanded Robinsons Place Bacolod and Robinsons Place
Tacloban.
“We have a
‘first-mover advantage’ as the markets there have growing consumer markets and
have been underserved for years. Business growth is also strong there,”
Frederick D. Go, Robinsons Land president and chief executive officer, said
during the malls’ launch at Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, Quezon City
yesterday, citing the new malls’ strategic locations.
Mr. Go told
reporters on the launch’s sidelines that the four malls are expected to cost
“at least P6 billion” and will push the company’s total leasable area to “over
one million square meters.”
The company’s
Commercial Centers Division, which handles malls, contributed P1.8 billion or
48% of Robinsons Land’s revenues in the first quarter ending December of its
October-September fiscal year.
Incorporated
in 1980, Robinsons Land is the property arm of listed conglomerate JG Summit
Holdings, Inc.
As of
end-September last year, the company had 32 shopping malls, 34 residential
projects, eight office buildings, and nine hotels.
Robinsons
Land and its subsidiaries are engaged in the business of selling, acquiring,
building, developing, leasing and disposing of real properties such as land,
buildings, shopping malls, commercial centers and housing projects, hotels and
mixed-used property projects.
The company
earned P1.189 billion in net income in the first quarter of its fiscal year
ending September, up 3.12% from P1.153 billion in the same three months in 2011
on the back of improved revenues across business segments.
In the same
comparative periods, revenues -- consisting of real estate and hotel operations
-- climbed by 9.75% to P3.726 billion from P3.395 billion, while costs expanded
by 10.61% to P1.783 billion from P1.612 billion.
Shares of
Robinsons Land lost five centavos or 0.20% to close at P24.35 apiece yesterday
from P24.40 on Friday last week. -- F. J. G. de la Fuente
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