EARNINGS of Rockwell Land Corp. gained 9% in the third quarter of 2018, as higher income from its leasing segment offset the slight dip in sales of residential units.
In a regulatory filing, the Lopez-led property developer said net income attributable to equity holders of the parent climbed to P629 million in the July to September period, versus P576 million booked in the same period a year ago.
Revenues in the same period picked up 5% to P4.15 billion. Bulk of this came from the sale of condominium units, which stood at P3.01 billion, 2% lower than the P3.07 billion posted last year. Lease income meanwhile jumped 58% to P400 million.
On a nine-month basis, Rockwell Land’s attributable profit surged 17% to P1.88 billion, after revenues rose 14% to P12.2 billion.
Amid the slower third quarter, sale of condominium units went up 10% to P8.99 billion in the nine month ending September, which the company attributed to the higher completion of Edades Suites and The Vantage.
The launch of new projects — the Aruga Resort and Residences in Mactan, Cebu, and Arton in Quezon City — prompted a 34% increase in reservation sales for the period. Aruga Resort, with its 300 residential units and 300 hotel rooms, has a sales value of about P6 billion, while the second tower of the Arton is set to generate around P4 billion in sales.
For commercial development, revenues surged by 36% to P1.44 billion, boosted by the new retail and office spaces available following the expansion of Power Plant Mall, as well as the addition of RBC Sheridan and Santolan Town Plaza.
Cinema operations rose by 36% to P214 million following the addition of two cinemas in Power Plant Mall, and four cinemas in Santolan Town Plaza.
Meanwhile, the office segment generated P391 million in revenues, 83% higher year-on-year, also due to RBC Sheridan which logged an average occupancy rate of 61%.
Revenues from the hotel segment slumped 17% to P264 million, weighed down by the third discontinued operations of Aruga at the Grove Service Apartments in September 2017.
Rockwell Land said it has spent P10.24 billion worth of capital expenditures in the first three quarters of the year, out of the P14 billion it has committed to spend for the entire year. The company noted that half of the budget was spent for the development of Proscenium, while a total of P1.68 billion went to investment properties.
The listed firm earlier said it plans to ramp up land banking efforts this year, allotting about P4-5 billion to acquire up to 284 hectares of land across the country.
Shares in Rockwell slipped two centavos or 1.04% to close at P1.91 each at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

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