Megaworld net income up 60% to P8.03 billion in 2011

MANILA, Philippines - Megaworld Corp. posted a net income of P8.03 billion last year, up 60 percent from a year earlier on strong real estate sales, higher leasing income and non-recurring gains from the sale of shares.

In a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange, Megaworld said consolidated total revenues, which include real estate sales, rental income, hotel income and other revenues, climbed 39.3 percent to P28.6 billion from P20.5 billion recorded the previous year.

Bulk of revenues came from sales of condominium units and residential lots, totalling P15.9 billion or an increase of 21.2 percent from the previous year’s P13.1 billion.

Sales came from Megaworld’s projects such as Eight Forbestown in Fort Bonifacio Taguig; Eastwood Le Grand in Eastwood City; McKinley West, Morgan Suites and The Venice Luxury Residences in McKinley, Taguig City; Manhattan Heights in Quezon City; Newport Palmtree Villas, 81 Newport Boulevard and Newport City in Pasay.

Rental income grew 42 percent to P3.8 billion, largely due to the completion of additional leasing properties and continued demand for office space from business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.

Revenue from hotel operations amounted to P392.2 million, 68.5 percent higher than the year before due to an increase in the number of hotel rooms and improved occupancy rates.

To ensure continued growth, Megaworld has set a P25-billion capital expenditure program this year to complete ongoing projects and develop new ones. For the first half this year, the company is scheduled to launch 11 new projects to capitalize on a booming property market.

Megaworld is currently developing over 40 residential projects and several BPO offices in Metro Manila.

The company is also looking to target a wider range of customers through the projects of subsidiaries Empire East Land Holdings Inc. and Suntrust Properties Inc.

Megaworld has emerged as the country’s leading residential condominium developer in more than a decade, cornering 16 percent of total market share, according to a study by real estate advisory firm CB Richard Ellis Philippines.

The company rolled out the most number of residential condominium units from 2000 to 2011, totaling more than 40,000 units. The units account for an estimated total aggregate saleable area of about 1.9 million square meters or 17 percent of the market.

The figures reinforce Megaworld’s continued leadership in the tighly-contested condominium market.