Fil-Estate Land eyes P1.5B from asset sale

Fil-Estate Land Inc. (FELI) is eyeing to raise as much as P1.5 billion from the sale of assets to complete some real estate projects, pay down debt and fund its shift to socialized or affordable housing as it charts a bold new path to sustained growth, profitability and shareholder value.

At the sidelines of the company’s shareholders’ meeting yesterday, FELI chairman Robert John Sobrepreña said this “represents a complete paradigm shift in the way we do business,” pointing out that the new Fil-Estate is completely focused on the completion of its projects.

The move is in line with the group’s move to restore its old glory as the country’s premier property company.

Sobrepeña said the sale may happen before the end of the year as the company finalizes the list of properties to be divested which include lots in Camp John Hay in Baguio and Manila Southwoods. 

 “We have a lot of properties we can liquefy so that we have full funding in place to start and complete a project,” he said.

FELI has one of the largest landbanks among the country’s property developers, with over 1,000 hectares of wholly-owned and 2,940 hectares of joint venture properties.

FELI is primarily engaged in horizontal development of residential subdivision lots, integrated residential, golf and other leisure-related properties and vertical development of mixed-use towers in Metro Manila.

Sobrepeña said the company is eyeing a net income of P100 million for its fiscal year ending September 2009 or an increase of 71.5 percent from the previous level of P58.3 million. The growth is expected to come from sales of completed pro-jects which include Cathedral Heights in New Manila,

The Steps in Sto. Domingo (a residential project catering to the affordable market), Sta. Barbara Heights residential golf course community in Iloilo, and Southwoods Peak, which covers 27 hectares of land in Carmona, Cavite.

Southwoods Peak is part of the residential and golf development Manila Southwoods which includes the 36-hole Golf and Country Club. It will feature what Fil-Estate calls “smart” and “green” homes – energy-efficient, eco-friendly houses that maximize natural lighting and ventilation as well as wireless Internet connectivity throughout the development.

Sobrepeña expressed confidence Fil-Estate would withstand the challenges of a difficult business environment given its new strategy.

Having successfully reduced debt and operating costs, Fil-Estate is now focused on accelerating completion of its projects, generating sales, and development of new projects.

Fil-Estate, one of the hardest hit by the Asian financial crisis, has learned its lesson well and expects to come out leaner and stronger,   Sobrepeña said.