Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI), a unit of Andrew Tan’s property developer Megaworld Corp., on Monday said its income in 2021 grew 15 percent to P1.5 billion from last year’s P1.3 billion on the resumption of construction activities in its projects.
GERI’s income was still 21 percent lower when compared with its 2019 income of P1.91 billion.
Consolidated revenues for 2021 came in at P5 billion, some 3 percent lower than the previous P5.19 billion and 39 percent lower compared with P8.29 billion in 2019.
“For 2021, we continued to capitalize on the strong demand for properties in the provinces. Aside from the intrinsic attractiveness of owning a place that allows you to commune more closely with nature, the past couple of years also highlighted the potential of owning real estate as an investment. In fact, the underlying land values for our offerings continued to appreciate at a brisk pace in spite of the pandemic,” company president Monica T. Salomon said.
Real estate sales contributed the lion’s share of revenues for 2021, registering a mere 3-percent increase to P3.7 billion from the previous year, in line with the expansion in construction activity. Real estate sales for the fourth quarter alone came in at P1 billion, 49 percent higher than the same period last year.
Last year, GERI said it continued to bank on the strong demand for leisure developments, with reservation sales growing by 25 percent year-on-year to P17.2 billion. Boracay Newcoast led the company’s property sales with P4.1 billion worth of projects sold, followed by Eastland Heights and Alabang West, which registered sales amounting to P3.6 billion and P3.4 billion, respectively.
The rest of GERI’s offerings also registered demand with Arden Botanical Estate, Southwoods City, and Twin Lakes combining for P5 billion in sales during the year.
Meanwhile, the company’s leasing revenues declined by a third to P409 million as consumer confidence remained subdued for the majority of 2021.
Revenue from hotel operations also declined by 27 percent to P146 million in 2021 from P201 million in the previous year as a result of prevailing travel restrictions. The relaxing of restrictions in the fourth quarter of 2021 led to a resurgence in bookings, resulting in P78 million in revenues.
“The increased economic activity in the last couple of months of the year has really been a boon for us. Furthermore, the relaxation of travel requirements will help sustain the ramp up in operations of our hotels which rely a lot on leisure and tourism-related activities,” Salomon said.
GERI has eight integrated tourism developments across the country covering more than 3,300 hectares of land.