Posted on June 19, 2015 07:32:00 PM [
BusinessWorld Online ]
By Krista Angela M. Montealegre,
Senior Reporter
MEGAWORLD CORP. sees sustained
double-digit growth in earnings annually, its chairman said on Friday, as its
township developments go on a tear.
“[W]e expect to achieve a double-digit
growth net income growth every year on the back of a bigger and stronger
township portfolio,” Megaworld Chairman and President Andrew L. Tan said during
the company’s stockholders meeting in Quezon City on Friday.
Excluding non-recurring items,
Megaworld’s core earnings grew 14% to P9.4 billion last year from P8.27
billion. Its performance reflects an 18% annual growth since 2009 when its net
profit was at P4 billion, Mr. Tan said.
By the end of the year, the property
firm will have 20 townships across the country with the rollout of five more
townships this year.
So far, two new townships have been
launched -- Northill Gateway and The Upper East, both in Negros Occidental. Two
of the townships that are slated for launch are in Luzon, while the other one
is in Mindanao.
Megaworld is bringing an average of
100,000 square meters of new office space every year to the market until 2019,
higher than the average of 60,000 to 80,000 square meters the company launched
annually in the last five years.
“Over the next 3-5 years, we are on
track to bring half a billion square meters of office supply. The projects we
are launching have been received very well prior to completion in the last
years,” Megaworld Senior Vice President Jericho P. Go said.
Bulk of the new office space launches
will be in Metro Manila and will be taken up by business process outsourcing
companies, Mr. Go said.
“NO OVERSUPPLY”
On the residential side, reservation
sales are projected to reach P90-95 billion this year, as much as 11.77% higher
compared to the P85 billion in 2014, Megaworld Executive Director Kingson U.
Sian said.
“We don’t feel there’s an oversupply
at least not in the areas where we are operating,” Mr. Sian said.
“Our business model is it will be the
preferred choice. We’re not just selling a condo selling an office space, we’re
providing a lifestyle opportunity,” he said.
Megaworld is raising its rental income
target this year to P9 billion from the P8 billion announced earlier, Mr. Sian
said. However, the real estate firm kept its 2016 goal at P10 billion.
Megaworld is opening seven new malls
and commercial centers, two office buildings and two new hotels this year that
will add around 300,000 square meters of gross floor area in its overall rental
portfolio.
Megaworld is setting aside P65 billion
this year to finance the development of its residential, office and retail
projects as well as some land banking initiatives. This forms part of its
five-year capital expenditure program through 2019 of P285.8 billion.
Its shares were unchanged at P4.99
apiece on Friday.
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