Edsa Properties posts 17% profit hike

Real estate and management holding company Edsa Properties Holdings Inc. reported a 17.3-percent growth in its net income last year to P251.42 million from P214.37-million the previous year, driven by higher rental income.

EPHI owns a 78.82-percent interest in Shangri-La Plaza Corp., which operates the Shangri-La Mall. It also has interests in Edsa Shangri-La Hotel & Resort Inc. and Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd.

The group’s rental income rose 12.6 percent to P643 million in 2003, driven by improved customer traffic as a result of the mall renovation program that begun in 2001.

Rental income from Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, however, went down by 3.2 percent to P49.7 million compared with P51.3 million a year earlier. The drop in income was due to the outbreak of the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the negative effect of the war on terrorism resulting in lower occupancy.

EPHI’s share in the profits of KSA Realty Corp., the owner of The Enterprise Center declined from P51.2 million to P66 million as a result of the sharp increase in interest expense. EPHI holds a 23.52-percent stake in KSA.

EPHI expects the construction of The Shang Grand Tower, which began in Sept. 2002, to be completed by Dec. 2005. The residential condomium project is a joint undertaking with Kuok Philippine Properties Inc., SGV Provident Fund and Centrum I Condominium. – Zinnia dela Peña