RLC to launch 6 new projects

MANILA, Philippines - Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), the property development arm of tycoon John Gokongwei, will launch six new residential projects this year as it expects stronger demand in the residential sector.

“We hope to launch at least six, a mix of condominiums and subdivisions,” RLC president Frederick Go told reporters on the sidelines of the 16th Outstanding Filipino Retailers & Shopping Centers of the Year awards night.

“In the past, most people thought that our residential business would either be negative or flat,” Go said.

However, sales turned out to be robust, with the residential business seen to outperform expectations this year, he said.

The six residential project launches slated this year in areas like Ortigas Center in Pasig, Manila and Quezon City is already higher than the four projects initially targeted by RLC, Go said.

In its 2012 fiscal year that ended last September, the residential division’s revenues fell five percent to P4.3 billion “due to lower project completion of various ongoing projects.”

To prepare for an expected higher sales, Go said the company beefed up its sales force last year.

RLC operates under four brands: Robinsons Luxuria for the high-end market, Robinsons Residences for condominiums in central business districts, Robinsons Homes for house-and-lot developments in provinces and Robinsons Communities for the middle income segment.

Last week, RLC announced a capital spending of P13 billion this year to take advantage of the sustained property boom. It is higher than the P9.5 billion in the 2012 fiscal year.

Of the capital allotment, two-thirds will be spent for the development of malls, office buildings and hotels while the remaining 33 percent will be taken up by residential condominium and housing projects.

Go said the capital expenditures will be sourced from internally generated cash of RLC, which is also into hotels, malls and office space development and management.

Profits of RLC rose seven percent to P4.2 billion in the 2012 fiscal year. The company has built 32 malls, 33 residential projects and eight office buildings to date.

Apart from its core property businesses, RLC is entering the gaming business. Late last year, it sealed a deal with Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada to jointly develop a $2-billion hotel and casino complex in the 100-hectare Entertainment City along Roxas Blvd.

Okada’s Tiger Resorts & Leisure Corp. is one of four groups that were granted a license by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to operate a casino on a reclaimed land along Manila Bay, which the government expects to turn into the world’s number two gaming destination, ahead of Singapore and Las Vegas and behind only Macau.