Residential sector to grow despite pandemic

MANILA, Philippines — Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (SLI), a publicly-listed subdivision developer, expects  the residential sector to continue growing despite the pandemic.

David dela Cruz, EVP and CFO of SLI, said the company remained resilient despite the challenging business environment.

“Even with the decline in real GDP along with the contraction of overall activity, SLI displayed continued resilience in its operational and financial performance. Its strong balance sheet coupled with its well positioned project portfolio was able to weather the worst of the crisis and is ready to capitalize on opportunities once recovery is underway,” Dela Cruz said.

SLI posted a net income of P1.3 billion in the third quarter of 2020, an improvement from the P1.12 billion reported a year ago.

SLI’s  portfolio consists of 99 ongoing projects as of December last year with  a total gross area of 1,617 hectares.

SLI also has presence all over the country, including  Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Baguio, Palawan, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu and Davao.

It still has a significant land bank earmarked for future development at 935 hectares as of end-2020.

According to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, prices in areas outside the National Capital Region grew by 6.4 percent in the third quarter last year.

“This, along with the increase in net income in the third quarter of 2020 year on year by 16.5 percent, is a testament to the resiliency of the company and the overall horizontal residential real estate sector,” SLI said.

SLI is a nationwide builder of masterplanned communities in the countryside.

Its portfolio consists of horizontal and vertical properties across the country, as well as a shopping mall in Cainta, Rizal named Sta. Lucia Mall.

The company has two subsidiaries, namely, Sta. Lucia Homes Inc. (SLHI) and Santalucia Ventures Inc. (SVI).

SLHI is engaged in property development and construction, while SVI is engaged in marketing and advertising.