The real estate arm of the Gokongwei Group of Companies reported double-digit profit growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal year buoyed by strong earnings from the flagship mall division.
In a filing to the local stock exchange Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) said net income from October to December 2009 rose 28 percent to P869.2 million. This, on the back of combined revenues (which includes hotel revenues) which added 10 percent to P2.49 billion.
The growth was driven by the company’s 41-percent hike in the earnings of the commercial centers division, which accounts for over half of the company’s gross revenues or P1.4 billion.
“Significant rental increment was contributed by the newly opened malls in Dumaguete, Ilocos Norte, General Santos, Tacloban and Davao. Metro Manila malls led by Robinsons Galleria Ortigas also contributed to the growth while other provincial malls also posted decent growth in rental revenues,” said RLC.
This improved profit picture was also supported by interest income and movie revenues which amounted to P100 million and P164 million for the period, respectively. Without these, the segment still posted a 16-percent growth.
The high-rise and residential building division, which accounts for 22 percent or P603 million of revenues, saw a decline of 14 percent due to lower completion of several projects.
However, significant revenues were realized from recent projects such as East of Galleria, Gateway Garden Heights, McKinley Park Residences, The Fort Residences and Woodsville Viverde.
The office space and hotels segments each contributed about a tenth of total revenues at P264.8 million and P289.2 million, respectively. Office rentals were up 5 percent due to rental charges from Cybergate Centers 2 and 3. Lease income is derived from six office buildings, Galleria Corporate Center, Robinsons Equitable Tower, Robinsons Summit Center and Towers 1, 2 and 3 at Robinsons Cybergate Center.
Meanwhile, hotel revenues were higher by 3 percent due to the opening of Summit Ridge Tagaytay Hotel. The other existing hotels—Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, Holiday Inn Galleria Manila and Cebu Midtown Hotel—posted occupancy rates of 76 percent, 79 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
The housing and land development division reported realized revenues amounting to P136.1 million, from P137.2 million during the same period last year, or a slight decline of 1 percent. This was brought about by lower percentage completion of various ongoing projects.
Shares of Robinsons Land added 2.17 percent to end Friday’s session at P11.75 each.
Source: The Business Mirror
