Eruption, pandemic pull down Century Properties income

EARNINGS of Century Properties Group, Inc. (CPG) dropped to P290 million in the first quarter as business segments were affected by the Taal eruption and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The listed property developer said in a statement Monday its consolidated revenues in the three-month period stood at P2.8 billion, flat from the P2.77 billion it reported last year.

Its bottomline, however, is down from P367.8 million in the first quarter of 2019.

“The lower net income in the first quarter of 2020 was not totally unexpected considering the three major shocks during the period: the Taal eruption in January, the coronavirus pandemic declaration in February, and the enhanced community quarantine declared in March, coupled with the company’s beefing up its cash war chest,” CPG Chief Finance Officer Ponciano S. Carreon, Jr. said in the statement.

The bulk of the company’s net income came from its affordable housing and leasing business, which contributed a combined P173 million to make up 60% of the pie. This is an increase from the P55 million it recorded last year when it made up 14% of the total net income.

Urban vertical projects added P111 million to account for 38% of net income, lower from the P324 million in 2019 when it comprised 84% of the total. The remaining 2% is from its property management business.

CPG had said before that its medium term plan is to focus on the expansion of its horizontal affordable housing and leasing segments to balance the revenue mix with its vertical developments business.

“We managed to sustain the level of our revenues with a more impressive mix with the affordable housing business and leasing portfolio now contributing a combined revenue of P817 million or 29% of the pie compared with just P200 million or 13% of revenues for the same period last year,” Mr. Carreon said in yesterday’s statement.

“The strong 2019 performance and (first quarter) balance sheet serve as strong foundations for the group to adopt needed structural and operational adjustments and business flexibility amidst the current economic disruptions,” he added.

CPG’s total assets stood at P54.6 billion at the end of the first quarter, higher by P1.2 billion from in end-2019. Its interest bearing liabilities fell by P1.4 billion.

“We are…taking advantage of the opportunity to be ready for another take-off. We expect our high-margin affordable housing and leasing revenues to further grow and boost our bottom-line margins,” Mr. Carreon said.

Shares in CPG at the stock exchange closed Monday’s session down 1.23% to four centavos each. — Denise A. Valdez