HOMEGROWN property developer Cebu Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) booked a nine-month net profit of P959.8 million, up by 77 percent year-on-year on higher earnings from its real estate operations.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) this week, CLI said its total revenues as of end-September 2017 reached P2.769 billion, a 67-percent year-on-year growth driven by strong performance across all business units.
The company’s real estate segment, comprising a big chuck of its revenues, increased by 68 percent to P2.736 billion in 2017 from P1.625 billion in 2016.
“The said increase was primarily attributed to the robust sales and on time construction progress from newly constructed projects, Casa Mira Linao, Mivesa Residences building 5, Casa Mira Towers, Mesaverte Residences, Baseline Center and Citadines,” the publicly listed firm said.
The developer said the demand for real estate in select growth areas increased reservation sales to P3.66 billion, up by 26 percent from last year’s total sales figure of P2.94 billion.
This, CLI explained, was primarily due to the robust sales across various projects particularly from the company’s new launches: 38 Park Avenue in IT Park Cebu, MesaTierra in Davao, and Casa Mira in Naga, Cebu. These projects are currently nearing fully sold status.
Furthermore, the developer’s rental income increased by 12 percent year-on-year to P31.4 million from P28.1 million, attributable to higher occupancy rates and rental rate increases during the period covered.
The company said its balance sheet is geared to support its expansion plans for areas outside Cebu, including several places in the Visayas and Mindanao.
As of September 2017, CLI reported P9.963 billion in assets, a notable growth from the P5.346 billion recorded by the end of 2016.
CLI said the growth in assets was driven by proceeds from its recent Initial Public Offering (IPO) and increased volume in collections from customers due to its outstanding sales performance.
The developer aims to launch 14 projects this year, translating to P17.7 billion in capital expenditure within the next two to three years.
Expansion plan
For the period ending September 2017, P8 billion worth of projects were already launched while six more projects will be introduced to the market within this quarter.
The company used the proceeds from its recent IPO for pre-identified land acquisitions while project development and construction will be funded through long-term loans and customer payments.
CLI president and chief executive officer Jose Soberano III, in an earlier interview, said the company was primed to once again tap the capital market in the first half of 2018 as it seeks to fuel its prospects for expansion.
He said they plan to raise P5 billion to P10 billion through the issuance of retail bonds, extending its reach to a wider spectrum of investors who will be assured of fixed returns on their investments.
In its latest disclosure, the developer said its performance will remain to be in line with the strengths of the country’s economic performance and overall levels of business activity.
CLI said it may be affected by economic and political uncertainties here and abroad that could have adverse effects on the real estate industry, but the company believes its strengths and competitive advantages will help it operate and deliver its promise under any circumstance.