CEBU LANDMASTERS, Inc. (CLI) booked a double-digit growth in reservation sales as of the third quarter this year despite an overall economic slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement on Thursday, the Cebu-based property developer said it recorded P10.5-billion reservation sales from January to September, up 14% from the same period last year. Some P3.1 billion came from sales in the third quarter.

This puts the company in a position to outdo its overall sales performance in 2019, when it ended the year with P12.67 billion reservation sales.

“Demand for CLI housing has remained strong despite the pandemic. And we attribute this to our focus in meeting the needs of our buyers in each of the fifteen key VisMin cities we serve in terms of product, service and pricing, and making use of our wide sales and construction networks throughout the region,” Jose Franco B. Soberano, CLI vice-president and chief operating officer, said in the statement.

Much of the reservation sales came from CLI’s economic housing brand Casa Mira, which accounted for 62% of the take-up during the nine months. Some 24% came from CLI’s mid-market brand Garden Series.

Focusing in Visayas and Mindanao also continues to bode well for the company, as 48% of its sales came from projects in Cebu, 21% from projects in Iloilo, 13% from projects in Cagayan de Oro and 12% from projects in Bacolod.

“We are always mindful of finding and serving the market segments where real estate demand is strongest. And our goal is to always remain close and fulfill the needs of our customers no matter the circumstance,” Mr. Soberano added.

CLI has so far launched five projects this year with a combined value of P5.5 billion. It continues to expand to new locations such as in Iloilo and Bohol.

The company is targeting to launch P19.4-billion worth of projects this year, equivalent to 14 new projects by yearend, to boost its inventory that has been down to about P10 billion as of June.

CLI has allocated around P10 billion to support its capital expenditures for the year.

Earnings of CLI slid 7% to P791.8 million in the first semester of 2020, while revenues were flat at P3.54 billion, due to sustained demand from local buyers during the lockdown.

Shares in the company at the stock exchange closed flat at P4.62 apiece on Thursday. – Denise A. Valdez

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