Megaworld profit jumps 22% to P9B

MANILA, Philippines - Megaworld Corp. of property tycoon Andrew L. Tan pierced the P9-billion income mark last year on the back of strong residential sales and high rental income.

In a regulatory filing, Megaworld said its profits jumped 22 percent to P9.03 billion last year, inclusive of a P760-million non-recurring gain, from P7.41 billion in 2012.

Megaworld attributed its strong earnings growth to “strong residential sales from various townships particularly in Newport City, Uptown Bonifacio, McKinley Hill and Eastwood City; and higher leasing income from office and retail portfolio.”

Total revenues of the listed property firm and its subsidiaries rose 18 percent to P36.24 billion in 2013 from P30.6 billion a year ago.

“The country’s strong and stable economy as well as the continuous growth of the business process outsourcing sector have propelled our growth in 2013. Last year was another banner year for Megaworld,”  said Tan, Megaworld chairman and CEO.

The Megaworld Group that also includes

medium-cost housing arm Empire East Land Holdings Inc. and affordable housing unit Suntrust Properties Inc.

 posted a record P68.2 billion in reservation sales in 2013 from the 18 projects launched.

Megaworld launched 10 projects last year: Uptown Parksuites in Uptown Bonifacio; Bayshore Residential Resort Phase 2 in Pasay City; Manhattan Plaza Tower 1 in Quezon City and One Manchester Place Tower 1 in The Mactan Newtown, Cebu.

Empire East introduced to the market five towers while Suntrust Properties launched three residential projects last year.

Megaworld’s rental income from office developments and lifestyle malls climbed 21 percent to a record P6.04 billion from P4.99 billion in 2012.

Moving forward, Megaworld said it will further solidify its position as the leader in office development in terms of total office space inventory by completing another 112,000 square meters (sqm) of office space this year. By the end of 2014, the company will have around 712,000 sqm of office space.

On the retail side, Megaworld is also set to complete another 70,000 sqm in additional commercial and retail spaces with the completion of the Venice Grand Canal Mall in McKinley Hill, and some commercial strips at The Mactan Newtown, bringing its commercial and retail space portfolio to 240,000 sqm by end-2014.

“Along with our sustained growth in the residential segment, we are committed to further expand our recurring income portfolio especially in our office and retail businesses,” Tan said.

“Year after year, we will be completing more office towers, malls, and commercial spaces. By 2017, we expect our rental income to reach P10-billion, double that of 2012,” he added.