Megaworld posts 43% income growth to P1.15B last year

Upscale real estate developer Megaworld Corp. reported a 43-percent growth in its net income last year to P1.15 billion, mainly due to higher sales of its residential projects and rental revenues.

In a financial report filed with securities regulators, Megaworld said revenues rose 19.3 percent to P5.32 billion.

Megaworld treasurer and spokesperson Francis Canuto attributed the company’s strong performance to ongoing residential projects such as Eastwood Parkview, Grand Eastwood Palazzo and One Orchard Road in Eastwood City, Forbeswood Heights at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig and Greenbelt Radissons and Greenbelt Parkplace in Makati.

Rental income, meanwhile, increased 20.5 percent to P547.82 million from P454.65 million in 2004.

Canuto said Eastwood City, Megaworld’s flagship project, accounted for the bulk of the rental earnings, with its Cyber One office building and City Walk 2 leisure strip posting strong occupancy levels last year.

Eastwood City is a 16-hectare cyberpark and mixed-use project. It hosts nearly one in every four business process outsourcing firms in the country like the call center operations of IBM and Citibank N.A.

As of end-December last year, Megaworld’s cash and cash equivalent balance amounted to P2.85 billion or six percent higher year-on- year. Current ratio stood at 2.34:1 while total equity rose by six percent to P17.87 billion from P16.77 billion in 2004.

"The company, with current assets amounting to almost P15 billion and a bank debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07:1, is in a strong liquidity position," Canuto said.

Canuto said the company is expected to sustain its gains this year, mainly coming from residential projects Fort Bonifacio-Bellagio, Forbeswood Parklane and McKinley Hill Village, and The Residential Resort at Newport City, Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

Bellagio and Forbeswood Parklane are part of the P15-billion Forbes Town Center at the Global City while McKinley Hill Village, which offers fast-selling subdivision lots to a high-end market, is the first residential phase of Megaworld’s 50-hectare McKinley Hill.

The Residential Resort, meanwhile, is a low-density, 1.7-hectare community close to the Villamor golf course.

Megaworld focuses on the middle to high-end residential and office markets. It also has 43-percent owned subsidiary, Empire East, that caters to the lower to middle- income market segment.

The property developer had credited call centers for raising occupancy rates and rents in office buildings in Manila during the last three years.