DoubleDragon hikes income forecast to P525 M this year

MANILA, Philippines - The property joint venture of the founders of grilled chicken chain Mang Inasal and fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp. substantially jacked up its earnings guidance to more than P500 million this year as its investments in various commercial centers bear fruit.

In a regulatory filing, DoubleDragon Properties Corp. said its net income is projected to reach P525 million this year, higher than the previous forecast of P340 million.

“The company expects continuous high growth trajectory to be driven by existing business and new investments and developments,” DoubleDragon said.

In particular, subsidiary CityMall Commercial Centers Inc. (CMCCI) will account for bulk of this year’s earnings. CMCCI is 66-percent owned by DoubleDragon while the remaining 34 percent is held by mall and banking conglomerate SM Investments Corp.

“CMCCI is set to uplift the community mall standard and is seen to revolutionize the community mall industry in the Philippines,” DoubleDragon said.

The community mall concept will also spur substantial local economic growth and provide employment to the local workforce, it added.

CityMall branches in Roxas City, Zamboanga-Tetuan, Tagbak-Jaro in Iloilo, Consolacion in Cebu and Anabu-Imus in Cavite will start operations late this year.

CMCCI launched yesterday its food court format that will become the centerpiece in all CityMalls.

CityMall food courts will house the top fastfood brands such as Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon and Highlands Coffee, a combination that is expected to draw in diners of all ages, DoubleDragon said.

DoubleDragon will also open the Dragon Shopping Center in September, in time for the Christmas holiday shopping rush in the Divisoria area. Dragon Shopping Mall, just in front of the 168 Shopping Mall and beside the Tutuban Shopping Center, will house several retail shops, a food court, 1,099 tiangge stalls and almost 500 parking slots.

DoubleDragon aims to reach the P1-billion net income level by 2016 and P4.8 billion by 2020. It aims to reach one million square meters (sqm) of total leasable space portfolio by 2020, of which 700,000 sqm is expected to come from the planned 100 CityMall community malls, mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao.

In the first quarter this year, DoubleDragon’s net income spiked 117 percent to P21.2 million from P9.8 million a year ago while consolidated revenues surged 142 percent to P172.5 million from P71.3 million.

DoubleDragon is a 50-50 joint venture between Injap Investments of Mang Inasal Founder Edgar Sia II and Honeystar Holdings Corp. of Jollibee owner Tony Tan Caktiong.