Megaworld sees reservation sales breaching P24 billion this year

MANILA, Philippines - Megaworld Corp. of real estate tycoon Andrew Tan expects its reservation sales to reach an all-time high of P24 billion this year due to the brisk take-up of its projects, particularly Newport City in Pasay.

In a briefing with reporters following the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting yesterday, Megaworld executive director and senior vice-president Kingson Sian said the firm  could even exceed the P24-billion target as it has already registered over P11 billion in reservation sales from January to May this year or 55 percent of the P19.8 billion recorded for the whole of 2009.   

“Reservation sales have been averaging over P2 billion a month so if this trend continues, we could exceed the P24-billion level,” Sian said. 

Real estate sales, on the other hand, amounted to P11.4 billion during the five-month period, mainly coming from residential projects in Eastwood City, McKinley Hill and Newport City townships, along with Manhattan Garden City.

Groupwide sales (inclusive of projects under the Empire East and Suntrust brands) hit P15 billion in the first five months of the year, nearly 60 percent of the  P26 billion registered in 2009.

Given robust sales and new product launches, the company is eyeing a 10 percent growth in both its bottom and top lines this year, Sian said.  In 2009, consolidated net income amounted  to a record P4.06 billion on revenues of P17.76 billion.

“We are definitely excited about the prospects that the future holds.  We have several landmark projects lined up in the years to come as well as several innovative plans that allow us to further improve on the local landscape that we have painstakingly shaped through the years,” said Tan, chairman and president of Megaworld.

To ensure a more solid platform for growth, Megaworld has set a P17-billion capital expenditure program which includes four major urban projects to be launched in the third quarter.  These are Palm Bay in Manila, Maple Park Villas at McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio, Two Central West Tower in the Makati CBD and 81 Newport Boulevard at Newport City in Pasay City.

Palm Bay is a P5-billion mixed-use condominium project that will rise within the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex adjacent to the Coconut Palace.  The project, in partnership with the state pension fund Government Service Insurance System, will feature three high-rise residential towers, offering a total of 900 units.

McKinley Hill Maple Park Villas will involve the development of three Mediterranean-inspired medium-rise clusters with a total of 269 condominium units.

On the other hand, the 50-story Two Central West Tower, located along Valero St. in Salcedo Village, will make available 672 units and a twin-level retail arcade.

Meanwhile, 81 Newport Boulevard will have six 10-story residential clusters, offering 850 units.

In the pipeline are the redevelopment of the 34.5-hectare Joint US Military Advisory Group  (Jusmag) property in Fort Bonifacio into a mixed complex at an estimated cost of at least P22 billion as well as a  16-hectare lot in the North Bonifacio central business district that extends all the way to Kalayaan Avenue. Megaworld will invest at least P25 billion over the next 12 years to develop the northern portion of Bonifacio Global City.

McKinley West and Uptown Fort bring to more than 100 hectares Megaworld’s total development portfolio in Fort Bonifacio, allowing the company to build around one million square meters of a new generation of BPO office space that will help generate new jobs in the country’s emerging premier central business district.

Megaworld is a pioneering developer of integrated live-work-play-learn communities in the country. To date, it has six township developments under way in the most strategic locations in Metro Manila, in addition to several luxury residential condominium projects in the heart of the Makati central business district.

Megaworld’s pioneering BPO/information technology park in Eastwood City is a 24x7 hub for BPO players servicing a global market and with a strong workforce of 40,000. Buoyed by the success of Eastwood City, Megaworld went on to build McKinley Hill, whose own cyberpark now hosts some of the biggest names in the BPO industry. In a span of just three years, McKinley Hill has provided employment for more than 15,000 workers.

Megaworld is acknowledged as the leader in office development in the country and the largest BPO office landlord as well.  Currently, it has an inventory of 306,000 square meters of BPO office space, with 78,000 square meters more to be completed by yearend.