C&P Homes cuts losses to P59M

Low-cost housing developer C&P Homes Inc. cut its losses by 94 percent last year to P59 million, from P971.73 million in 2002, largely due to cost-cutting measures adopted by management.

In a financial report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, C&P Homes said despite positive operating results, the company still turned in a net loss due to interest charges and higher foreign exchange losses of P1.22 billion. The property developer also booked losses on assets totaling P125.2 million.

C&P Homes registered sales of P1.78 billion last year or 20 percent lower than the previous year’s P2.23 billion. Operating profit likewise went down by seven percent to P372.9 million from P402.6 million.

The decrease in profit was due to a lower realization of deferred gross profit on prior years sales amounting to P527.5 million in 2003, compared with P733.8 million in 2002.

Interest income also declined 31 percent due to the shift in buyers’ preference to avail of deferred cash/bank financing and effect of sale of receivables to generate cash.

The company’s operations have been relatively flat for the past three years as sales volume have been reduced on account of, among others, selective credit granting policies, restricted availability of credit and the temporary slowdown of real estate development.

To cover for reduced sales volume in the low-cost segment, C&P has intensified its marketing efforts in the affordable to middle-income segments of the market through the redevelopment plans on existing projects, well-thought of master-planned communities on expansion areas and by offering attractive financing terms to homebuyers.

In order to address its current difficulty of generating sufficient cash flows to fully service interest-bearing obligations, C&P is continuing its program to reduce debt.

The real estate developer continues to settle some of its obligations through outright and unconditional sale of real estate properties and sale of assets as liquidity mechanism.

Certain assets have already been identified by management for disposition to provide the company and its subsidiaries with additional liquidity.

C&P Homes, the country’s largest socialized housing developer, has also entered into swapping deals with its business partners to service some operational requirements.

The company is also strengthening its foothold in the middle-income market through its Crown Asia projects. Its home designs range in gross floor area from 21 to 74 square meters and the selling price ranges from P150,000 to P2 million.

C&P Homes is more popularly known under the brands Camella and Palmera. The Camella projects focus in Southern Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna and Batangas regions while the Palmera brands are visible in northeastern Metro Manila, Rizal and Bulacan. The company also has projects in Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Pangasinan.