MEGAWORLD Corp. subsidiary Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI) announced on Monday that its income attributable to parent company shareholders grew by 21% P1.3 billion in 2021 due to strong demand and real estate sales.

“For 2021, we continued to capitalize on the strong demand for properties in the provinces. Aside from the intrinsic attractiveness of owning a place that allows you to commune more closely with nature, the past couple of years also highlighted the potential of owning real estate as an investment,” GERI President Monica T. Salomon said in a statement.

“In fact, the underlying land values for our offerings continued to appreciate at a brisk pace in spite of the pandemic,” she added.

Net income rose by 15% to P1.5 billion while consolidated revenues reached P5 billion, with no comparative figure given.

Real estate sales were the biggest contributor to revenues with a 3% increase to P3.7 billion in 2021, in line with the expansion in construction activity.

In the fourth quarter, real estate sales were up 49% to P1 billion.

The company said that demand also came from leisure developments, with reservation sales growing by 25% year on year to P17.2 billion.

Its Boracay Newcoast development led the company’s property sales with P4.1 billion last year, followed by Eastland Heights and Alabang West at P3.6 billion and P3.4 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile, leasing revenues declined by 34% to P409 million as “consumer confidence remained subdued for the majority of 2021.”

Revenue from hotel operations also dropped by 27% to P146 million from P201 million in the previous year as a result of travel restrictions.

However, hotel revenues in the fourth quarter increased by 231% to P78 million due to a resurgence in bookings from the easing of lockdown restrictions.

“The increased economic activity in the last couple of months of the year has really been a boon for us. Furthermore, the relaxation of travel requirements will help sustain the ramp up in operations of our hotels which rely a lot on leisure and tourism-related activities,” Ms. Salomon added.

GERI has eight integrated tourism developments across the country covering more than 3,300 hectares of land in Batangas, Cavite, Aklan, Iloilo, and Rizal, among other locations.

At the stock exchange on Monday, GERI shares remained unchanged at P0.88 apiece. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

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