EARNINGS of D.M. Wenceslao and Associates, Inc. (DMW) fell 12% year-on-year in the first quarter after the absence of last year’s one-time gain.
In a statement Friday, the property and construction firm said its attributable net income stood to P445.4 million in the January-to-March period, lower than the P507.1 million it recorded the same period last year.
Excluding the P300-million other income it saw in 2019, DMW said its net income would have grown 71% this year.
DMW’s revenues surged 72% to P1.02 billion, driven by record-high growth in its leasing and residential segments. Revenues from the leasing segment climbed 4% to P512.7 million, while revenues in the residential segment soared 398% to P498.1 million.
The growth in the leasing segment was triggered by sustained occupancy and higher rates in new leases. The rise in residential revenues was supported by higher project completions and additional accounts recognized.
“We continue to show good progress against our strategic priorities of enhancing our earnings base and profitability by developing a portfolio of high-quality real estate projects, resulting in our highest quarterly revenues without land sale,” DMW Chief Executive Officer Delfin Angelo C. Wenceslao said in a statement.
“While we expect the risk of delays to our project construction schedule and potential weaker near-term demand due to COVID-19 (coronavirus pandemic), we believe that the overriding strategy we laid out at the time of our IPO (initial public offering) remains relevant and will enable us to weather and respond to market uncertainty as well as to pursue new opportunities that will emerge as a result of the crisis,” he added.
The company also announced its board of directors has approved undertaking a P1-billion share buyback program to enhance and improve shareholder value. It noted this will affect DMW’s minimum public ownership, but committed to bring it back up to the required percentage within 12 months.
“The share buyback program will not involve any active and widespread solicitation from the stockholders and will be implemented in the open market through the trading facilities of the Philippine Stock Exchange… The share buyback program will not affect any of the company’s prospective and existing projects and investments,” it said.
Shares in DMW at the stock exchange inched up six centavos or 0.90% to P6.70 each on Friday. — Denise A. Valdez
