Empire East profit up 8.7% to P74.3M in January-June

Property developer Empire East Land & Holdings Inc. posted a net income of P74.26 million in the first half of the year, up 8.7 percent from the previous year’s P68.31 million 

The company, the middle-income development unit of Megaworld Corp., said total revenues fell to P330.67 million from P446.26 million as gross profit dropped to P112.31 million from P146.63 million.

Sales were derived from the following projects: Laguna Bel-Air 1 & 2, Laguna Bel-Air 3, Laguna Bel-Air 4, California Garden Square, Xavier Hills and The Cambridge Village.

The other major revenue contributor was the interest income derived from accounts under in-house financing amounting to P68.6 million and P147.7 million or equivalent to 21 percent and 33 percent respectively, of total revenues.

Additional sources of revenue were commissions of a subsidiary, rentals of central business park office-warehouse and commercial spaces of various projects and those obtained from other sources.

Empire East said operating expenses also rose to P250.1 million from P244.4 million. 

During the period under review, Empire East sourced its major cash requirements from internally-generated funds. The funds were utilized in the construction and development of ongoing projects, repayments of loans and settlement of various payables and other operational expenses.

The company remains prudent in managing its financial resources and has taken measures in controlling its available funds.

Meanwhile, Empire East parent firm Megaworld Corp. continues to position Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City, as the premiere residential and business process outsourcing (BPO) enclave in the country as it fastracks the construction of two more towers in the area—the Global One Center and the Eastwood LeGrand.

The 20-storey Global One Center, estimated to cost P1.5 billion, adds another 42,000 square meters of prime office space in the country’s very first and highly successful information technology (IT) economic zone.  It is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2009.