Highlands Prime net income up 3-fold to P126M in 2004

Highlands Prime Inc., a publicly-listed property leisure development firm controlled by the SM Group of retail tycoon Henry Sy, reported a net income of P126 million last year, a three-fold increase from P43 million a year earlier, driven by the successful turnout of its maiden residential project.

Highlands Prime said the strong market response to The Woodridge at Tagaytay Highlands boosted revenues to a record-high of P595 million, up 26 percent from the previous level. The company generated P1.3 billion from the sale of Woodridge units.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Echange, Highlands Prime said units in the first six completed buildings were sold out as of end-March this year. The company is now completing the seventh building which is now 60 percent sold.

The company said higher sales of lots facing Taal Lake at the Lakeview Heights subdivision in Tagaytay Midlands also contributed to the significant revenue increase for the year.

To address the increasing demand for more residential units in Tagaytay Highlands and Tagaytay Midlands, Highlands Prime has lined up new projects to be launched in the first half of the year.

Last January, Highlands Prime launched The Horizon, a mid-rise residential condominium development at the Tagaytay Midlands. The project, which stands on a nine-hectare property, will have 12 cluster buildings or 220 four-bedroom units which are targeted for completion by the first half of 2007. Highlands Prime expects to raise P2 billion in revenues from the project.

The company is also set to start development of two more buildings – Mt. Rushmore and Grand Canyon, composed of 90 four-bedroom units with an approximate floor area of 130-170 square meters each.

It expects to generate an additional P1.1 billion in revenues from this project. The buildings are slated for completion by end-2006.

Highlands Prime is likewise open to joint venture arrangements with interested parties to capitalize on its expertise in planning and marketing leisure property projects.

The company was spun off as part of Belle Corp.’s corporate restructuring aimed at wiping out a heavy debt load of about P6.3 billion. It was listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange in April 2002.

The company has property assets of P7.71 billion, comprised of undeveloped land, subdivision lots and finished residential units located around the vicinity of Tagaytay Highlands International Golf Club Inc.

Highlands Prime primarily focuses on the high-end of the leisure property market. The company has over 500 hectares of land in Tagaytay City, Laguna and Batangas.