Eton profit rises 3-fold to P197 M in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines - Eton Properties Philippines Inc., the property unit of the Lucio Tan Group, reported a 203 percent jump in net income in the nine months to September to P196.81 million.

The strong performance was driven by robust leasing income from the company’s business process outsourcing (BPO) and commercial properties.

Revenues rose 30 percent to P1.88 billion, Megaworld said.

Increased income from completed BPO offices such as Cyberpod Centris in Quezon City and Eton Cyberpod Corinthian in Ortigas Center and from retail properties Centris Walk and Centris Station, likewise pushed rental income higher during the nine month period to P843 million.

Eton’s four BPO office buildings in Eton Centris are fully leased to prominent outsourcing companies such as Genpact, Wipro, Hewlett Packard, Expert Global Solutions, Convergys, Mondelez and Unisys Philippines.

Eton Cyberpod Corinthian is rented by two other companies – Northgate Arinso and Sitel.

Eton Properties see rosy prospects continuing for the BPO industry, which in turn would translate to increased demand for office space.

“The outsourcing industry in the Philippines sees growth prospects which will result in increased demand for office space. Recurring income from office and retail spaces are currently the company’s strongest contributor to its bottomline and we plan to expand our property portfolio with more office buildings and commercial projects to sustain our long term growth,” said Eton Properties COO Josefino Lucas.

The company is putting up a fifth BPO office building in Eton Centris to meet the growing demand for office space. Construction will commence early next year.

 In the first quarter of next year, the company plans to launch Eton WestEnd Square in Makati City, a mixed use development which will comprise a high rise residential condominium, an office tower and a boutique mall.