Highlands Prime eyes P1.5-billion sales this year

MANILA, Philippines - Highlands Prime Inc., a high-end leisure property development firm owned by the Sy family, is eyeing sales of up to P1.5 billion this year on robust demand for premium real estate products, a top company official said.

The sales target is about 87 percent higher than the previous year’s sales of P800 million as this would be driven by the strong take-up of its recently-launched projects such as the The Woodridge Place, The Hillside and The Woodlands Point, company president Antonio Henson said.

He added net income is likewise seen to grow double digit this year.

In the first half this year, Highlands Prime posted a net profit of P56.03 million, an increase of 21.6 percent from P46.09 million the same period a year ago. Revenues jumped 49.3 percent to P501.39 million largely due to the recognition of higher completion rates for all of the company’s projects and higher sales.

Henson said the company is now in the process of selecting an entity that will execute the masterplan for a recently acquired 342-hectare property in Canlubang, Laguna. “Hopefully, we’ll come up with our choice by mid-October,” he said.

Acquired from the Yulo family, the Canlubang property will be developed into an eco-tourism community, offering high-end primary homes and world-class commercial centers. It is expected to boost Highlands Prime’s real estate sales for 2009 and 2010.

He said the acquisition of the property, which extends to to the Hillside village at Tagaytay Highlands, “opens a new corridor of opportunity from which your company can diversify.”

Highlands Prime has set aside P2.5 billion each year for ongoing developments inside the exclusive TagaytayHighlands and new projects including the Canlubang property.

Out of the total P2.5 billion, only P900 million will be spent this year while the balance will be utilized next year using internally-generated cash and bank borrowings. Around 40 percent of the total capex has been set aside for the Canlubang project.

Among the ongoing developments within the upscale Tagaytay Highlands include the most in-demand log cabin development at The Woodlands Point, The Hillside (the only lot development in the area), The Woodridge Place Phase 1 (a mid-rise condominium which is nearly sold out), and Pueblo Real (the Santa Fe Mexican lot development at Tagaytay Midlands).

Projects in the pipeline include Phase 2 of The Woodridge Place with three and four-bedroom condominium units, The Horizon Phase 2 at Tagaytay Midlands covering the construction of two and three-bedroom townhouses, IL Piazze at Milago (an Italian-style complex overlooking the Taal Volcano) and The Cliff at Hillside (another mountain lodge-type condominium development). — Zinnia B. Dela Peña