ALI lines up 67 projects worth P90 billion

MANILA, Philippines - Riding on the crest of a record-breaking financial performance last year, property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is shifting into higher gear as it plans to roll out 67 new projects – with an unprecedented potential sales value of around P90 billion – in an effort to cover all fronts and develop a bigger and more stable base of consumers.

 During the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting yesterday, ALI chairman Fernando Zobel De Ayala said they are undergoing a period of record expansion to take advantage of the expected surge in both government and private sector spending.

ALI president Antonino T. Aquino said bulk of the new developments will comprise 50 residential projects, equivalent to about 25,000 units across its five brands to cater to the different economic segments or 25 percent more than the 20,000 units rolled out in 2010.

“Our goal is to have significant presence in each key city in Metro Manila and replicating the success of our huge master-planned projects in all parts of the country,” Aquino said, noting that the company has established presence in new areas like Manila, Mandaluyong, Cubao, Novaliches and Tagaytay while at the same time continuing to build around its strategic landbank in Makati, Bonifacio Global City and Nuvali in Laguna.

For this year, Aquino said the company is looking at making its presence felt in Cavite, Bulacan, Rizal, Pampanga and major cities in Visayas and Mindanao.

ALI serves the high-end market through Ayala Land Premier while also catering to the middle-income, affordable and economic housing segments through Alveo Land and Avida Land, respectively. Last year, it branched out into the socialized housing segment via BellaVita.

Aquino said BellaVita and Amaia will account for half of residential unit launches as they target and serve mostly the end-user residential market, which represents more than 90 percent of the household population.

In its commercial leasing business, the group intends to duplicate this strategy of geographic expansion, product diversification and market broadening as it aims to double its gross leasable area (GLA) by 2014.

It will open three malls this year, the first phase of the Ayala Center redevelopment, Harbourpoint in Subic and the Centrio mall in Davao.

ALI launched a total of 141,000 sqm of shopping center GLA last year, including the expansion of Ayala Center Cebu, renovation of San Antonio Plaza Arcade in Makati, the retail component of Ayala Northpoint Technohub in Negros Occidental, Fairview Terraces in Quezon City and The District along Daang Hari in Cavite – which are expected to come on stream in the next couple of years.

Aquino said the company has in the pipeline some 365,000 sqm of commercial leasing GLA for both office and shopping centers and two more Kukun brand of hotels.

The company also broke ground a total of 46,000 sqm of BPO office space last year in various growth centers like Quezon City, BGC, Baguio, Cavite and Davao.

To sustain its expansion in the long run, Aquino said the company is hoping to double its landbank in the next five years from the current 4,000 hectares.

“The prospects for the year ahead are encouraging. We anticipate competition to remain intense in the property sector, which will once again test [Ayala Land’s] agility and resilience. I have no doubt that our company will continue to grow and achieve our goal to reach P10 billion in net income and a 15 percent return on equity by 2014,” he added.

In 2011, ALI’s net earnings reached an all-time high of P7.1 billion, up 31 percent from a year earlier.