AYALA LAND, Inc. (ALI) registered a 15% profit increase in the third quarter of 2018, lifted by the strong demand for residential properties complemented by the expansion of its commercial leasing unit.
The listed property developer reported a net income of P7.2 billion in the three months ending September, higher than the P6.3 billion it booked in the same period a year ago. This pushed its net income 17% higher to P20.78 billion for the first three quarters of 2018.
Revenues for the third quarter improved by 14% to P39.3 billion, bringing the nine-month figure to P119.7 billion, 21% higher year-on-year.
“We sustained our growth momentum in the third quarter as residential demand remained strong and our commercial assets registered double-digit increase in revenues,” ALI President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Vincent O. Dy said in a statement.
ALI’s property development segment saw its revenues climb to P82.8 billion, 23% higher year-on-year. Sales from its five residential brands, namely Ayala Land Premier, Alveo, Avida, Amaia, and Bellavita, in addition to its Malaysian unit MCT BHd contributed P70.3 billion, 26% higher than its P55.7-billion contribution in the same period a year ago.
Revenues from the sale of office spaces stood at P6.9 billion, while sales of commercial and industrial lots rose 16% to P5.6 billion.
The company’s reservation sales grew by 15% to P108.4 billion, indicating an average monthly take-up of P12 billion. At the same time, ALI launched P81.8 billion worth of residential and office for sale projects for the period.
ALI’s commercial leasing segment, which includes shopping centers, offices, hotels and resorts, expanded its revenues by 14% to P25.3 billion.
The shopping mall unit alone accounted for P14.3 billion, 13% higher year-on-year due to the strong performance of Greenbelt in Makati, UP Town Center in Quezon City, and the opening of Ayala Malls Circuit Makati. The company also benefited from the higher contributions of its newer malls like Ayala Malls The 30th, Ayala Malls Vertis North, and Ayala Malls Cloverleaf.
By end-September, ALI had a total of 1.83 million square meters (sq.m.) of gross leasable space under its shopping center portfolio.
For its office leasing segment, revenues inched up 13% to P5.4 billion, boosted by stable occupancy rates in its corporate centers in Vertis North in Quezon City, Circuit Makati, and The 30th in Pasig. ALI’s total office leasable space reached 1.03 million sq.m. by the end of the third quarter.
Meanwhile, the hotels and resorts business exhibited a 17% increase in revenues to P5.7 billion, lifted by higher occupancy and average room rates at Seda Vertis North in Quezon City and Seda Capitol Center in Bacolod, as well the performance of El Nido Resorts. The company added 209 rooms in the third quarter, bringing its total portfolio to 2,618 rooms.
ALI said it spent P77.9 billion worth of capital expenditures in the first three quarters, out of the P110.8 billion it committed to spend for the entire year.
The company’s robust spending is in line with its P40-billion net income target by 2020, with the residential and leasing segments contributing P20 billion each.
Shares in ALI dropped 5% or P2 to close at P38 each at the stock exchange on Tuesday. — Arra B. Francia

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR