Filinvest Land income rises 66% to P1.99 billion

MANILA, Philippines - Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), the property development arm of the Gotianun family, said its net income in the nine months ending September this year rose 66 percent on the back of strong sales and gains on the sale of assets.

In a disclosure to securities regulators, FLI said earnings jumped to P1.99 billion as consolidated revenues expanded 45 percent to P5.25 billion. Revenues from real estate operations jumped 61 percent to P3.66 billion while lease revenues went up 16 percent to P1.03 billion.

Real estate sales accounted for 70 percent of total revenues while recurring rental income generated by the company’s BPO offices and mall leasing operations accounted for 20 percent of total revenues. The balance was accounted for by interest and other income, which includes the gain from business combination.

The company booked a P566-million gain from the the purchase of its former partner’s 40 percent stake in Northgate Cyberzone and a portion of Timberland Heights earlier this year. Without this gain, net income for the nine months this year would have hit P1.42 billion or 19 percent higher than the previous level.

Total residential sales reservations during the period under review amounted to P7 billion or an increase of 32 percent and already equal to the amount generated for the whole of 2009.

The growth in rental revenues is attributable to improved occupancy rates as well as higher lease rates at Festival Supermall and Northgate Cyberzone, further boosted by the acquisition of its former partner’s 40 percent stake in Northgate Cyberzone.

To support the strong demand for its core business, FLI launched P7.6 billion worth of projects from January to September 2010, covering six new projects which include three new socialized housing projects, 15 additional phases of existing projects. This is 43 percent more than the estimated sales value of projects launched during the same period last year.

For the last quarter of 2010, FLI plans to launch three new projects and two additional phases of existing projects worth an estimated P2.6 billion, which will bring the total value of projects launched in 2010 to P10.2 billion, 58 percent more than the value of projects launched in 2009.

New projects scheduled for launch within 2010 include two mid-rise housing projects in Citta de Mare, FLI’s flagship project in the South Road Properties under a joint venture agreement with the Cebu City government. These mid-rise building projects are called Amalfi Oasis and San Remo Oasis.