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LISTED
Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) reported a 39.5-percent jump
in net profit for the fiscal year ending September 2006
to P1.718 billion versus P1.231 billion in 2005, the
company said in a statement Wednesday. Gross revenues
also improved by 29.7 percent to P6.643 billion from the
previous year’s P5.119 billion.
RLC
president and chief operating officer Frederick D. Go
attributed the higher figures to the combined strengths
of all the company’s business divisions, namely,
commercial centers, high-rise buildings, housing and
land development and hotels.
“All our
business units performed very well as a result of the
strategic initiatives we have pursued in recent years.
Each business unit has expansion programs that will grow
our investment property portfolio in malls, offices, and
hotels as well as increase our real-estate sales of
condominiums, subdivision land and houses,” Go
said.
The
commercial centers division, which develops, leases and
manages RLC’s shopping malls all over the country,
contributed nearly half of the revenue at P3.22 billion.
RLC is majority-controlled by the Gokongwei group.
In its
fiscal 2006, RLC was operating 18 shopping malls—six in
Metro Manila and 12 in other urban areas throughout the
Philippines. Five of its malls now house call centers
and business process outsourcing (BPO) operations, a new
development in the company’s business environment that
is expected to grow significantly in the next few
years.
The
company is now constructing The Midtown Wing, an
expansion area in Robinsons Place Manila; Robinsons
Place Otis 888, a strip mall fronting a residential
development; and Robinsons Place Dumaguete. It would
soon start the construction of malls in Bulacan and
Tagaytay as it continues to search for ideal locations
in key Metro Manila and provincial areas nationwide.
Meanwhile, the office and residential buildings division
posted a 90-percent growth in revenues at P2.03
billion.
Go said
their office buildings have attracted top players in the
BPO industry, while its residential condominiums are
doing very on strong domestic and international
demand.
“Robinsons Cybergate Center 2 is now operational and
will contribute to the rental revenue generated by
office spaces owned by RLC in Robinsons Cybergate 1,
Robinsons Summit Center, Robinsons Equitable Tower and
Galleria Corporate Center,” Go said. The company’s total
office area portfolio in the buildings division alone
now stands at 120,000 square meters.”
Strong
domestic sales and the rapid expansion of its
international marketing operations from
North America, Europe and the
Middle East, have boosted preselling efforts of
residential condominiums and other upper-middle class
products developed by the division.
The
housing and land development division, on the other
hand, reported revenues of P488 million, a 9 percent
growth over the previous year. It develops and sells
low- and middle-cost residential lots and houses.
The
hotels division registered a major turnaround in 2006.
Gross revenues totaled P904 million, up 81 percent from
2005, primarily due to the full operation of the deluxe
260 room Crowne Plaza Hotel within the Galleria
Complex.
As of
September last year, RLC’s hotels division had an
average occupancy rate of 68 percent. Apart from
Crowne
Plaza,
the other hotels operated by the company are Holiday Inn
Galleria Manila, Cebu Midtown Hotel; and Robinsons
Apartelle.
At the
end of the fiscal year, the company relaunched its
shares in an international equity offering. A total of
932.8 million shares were offered to both local and
international buyers, generating $223 million.
For
fiscal year 2007, RLC said it would spend around $111
million to fund various projects. The proposed capital
expenditure would be funded by the proceeds from its
follow-on offering. |
