Filinvest sets P18-B resd’l projects

MANILA, Philippines - Property developer Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) of the Gotianun family is fasttracking the rollouts of its projects in both the residential and commercial sectors this year, its top executive said yesterday.

The real estate firm is launching P18 billion worth of residential units this year, almost triple than that of its 2012 projects, to meet brisk demand.

In a briefing, FLI president and CEO Josephine Gotianun-Yap said the company will launch 12 new projects, including additional phases of existing projects, worth P18 billion, up from P7 billion last year.

The rapid expansion is in line with FLI’s target of posting 15-20 percent growth in property revenues this year from P13.1 billion in 2012, Gotianun-Yap said.

“Our strength is still in medium-rise buildings but there are new projects that are interesting as well,” she added.

The property firm is jacking up its capital expenditures by a third to P20 billion this year to sustain its growth, particularly in the residential segment.

Of the capital spending, P10 billion is earmarked for residential project development costs, P7 billion for the construction of office buildings and malls, and the balance of P3 billion for land banking activities.

Specifically, FLI is doubling its retail gross leasing area (GLA) from 135,000 square meters (sqm) as of end-2012.

FLI’s pipeline of additional retail space includes the 48,974-sqm expansion of Festival Supermall Alabang, the 30,211-sqm Filinvest Mall Tagaytay, the 18,652-sqm Filinvest Mall Princeton in Cavite and the 35,231-sqm Festival Supermall Cebu that will all be completed by 2016.

This will allow FLI to roughly double the leasing portfolio, which includes office space, to 550,00 sqm by 2015 from 271,000 sqm in end-2010, Gotianun-Yap said.

“All retail projects are complementing our residential developments,” she said.

The FLI official said there will be 154,688 sqm of new office space that will be available late this year up to 2015.

In terms of income, the listed property firm is maintaining the 60-40 ratio in favor of residential developments.

To support its capital spending needs, Gotianun-Yap said FLI will sell P4 billion worth of bonds in the second quarter.

FLI’s profit grew 17 percent to P3.43 billion last year from P2.94 billion in 2011, with total revenues picking up to P11.6 billion from P9.58 billion.