Megaworld profit up 31% in 9 mos

Megaworld Corp. posted a net income of P438.26 million in the first nine months of the year, up by 31 percent from P333.62 million the previous year-period.

Revenues went up by 18 percent to P1.07 billion from P907.11 million last year due to brisk selling of projects from Olympic Heights Towers, One Orchard Road Towers and Grand Eastwood Palazzo, Marina Residential Suites and Condominium Hotels, and Forbeswood Heights in Fort Bonifacio.

Rental operations and other sources of income remained a major revenue contributor, contributing P447.76 million or 42 percent of consolidated revenues. Compared with the same period last year, it grew by 40 percent from P319.88 million. The increase was due largely to high occupancy rate of both commercial and office space units in The CyberPark.

With the continuous flow of revenues, the company enjoys high liquidity position through effective cash management and some investment of subsidiaries that resulted to a significant increase in interest income to P20.76 million.

Operating expenses grew 5.37 percent to P516.7 million from P490.38 million, due mainly to depreciation costs brought about by the completion of several properties for lease and other administrative expenses.

Profits of Asian Terminals Inc. dropped by 34 percent in the first nine months of the year to P296.4 million from P446.1 million in the comparable period a year ago.

ATI attributed the drop in its net income to decreased non-containerized volumed handled during the period under review.

"Poor demand and importation of construction materials, the drop in grain importations and the slowdown in the movement of the livestock market have slowed down the volume of non-containerized cargoes handled at the ATI-operated marine terminals," ATI said.

The South Harbor general stevedoring terminal handled 20.4 percent less shipments, from 3.3 million metric tons (MMT) to 2.6 MMT, due to the limited importation of steel. The Mariveles grain terminal in Bataan, on the other hand, handled 1.2 MMT over the first nine months compared to 1.5 MMT in the same period last year.

ATI, which operates four of the country’s major international marine terminals, reported that containerized cargo volumes increased by 7.2 percent at the South Harbor, Port of Manila and by 64.2 percent at the Port of Batangas.

The South Harbor container terminal handled 455,785 twenty equivalent units (TEUs) mainly because of the increasing shift to containerized trade and new accounts.

The Port of Batangas, exclusively operated by company subsidiary ATI Batangas Inc., handled 10,236 TEUs from 6,236 TEUs over the first nine months last year. The increase was attributed to the growth of the Calabarzon-based industries that have recognized the cost efficiency of shipping through this government port.

The company’s newest investment, the South Harbor domestic terminal, has yet to improve its contribution as a revenue source.

With full commercial operations having commenced only in September this year, improvements in results is projected from the continued phasing in of domestic operation until full revenue contributions are achieved.

Lower real estate sales pulled down the net income of Filinvest Land Inc. for the first nine months of the year by 12 percent to P303.07 million, from P344.56 million in the same period last year.

Revenues from real estate operations dropped 8.4 percent to P1.09 billion from P1.19 billion the previous level. Cost of sales, however, fell 24.34 percent from P511.43 million to P386.93 million while operating expenses slipped by 6.04 percent to P303.48 million.

For the nine-month period, sales reservations received amounted to P1.4 billion or about 85 percent of total sales generated in 2002. Real estate sales generated during the third quarter came mostly from projects of its Futura Classic Division like Springfieldview, Punta Altezza, Medallion Homes and Melody Heights and from middle-income and high-end projects of the Corta Bella Division such as Serra Monte Mansions.

Most of the sales booked during the period were on installments as the company started to build up its mortgage receivables portfolio which resulted to a greater portion of gross profit deferred.

FLI’s parent arm Filinvest Development Corp. also reported a 50.9 percent drop in net income for the nine months of the year to P54.16 million, from P110.31 million in 2002.

FDC registered consolidated revenues of P3.46 billion, 2.37 percent lower than the previous year’s P3.38 billion although revenues from financial and banking services went up 15 percent to P1.045 billion.