Ayala Land to report a ‘very good’ first quarter, eyes more projects this year

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is tracking continued growth in the first three months of 2012 as all its business lines in the residential and retail segments continue to benefit from low interest rates and increased consumption.

In a press briefing following the company's annual stockholders' meeting on Wednesday, ALI President Antonino Aquino said early figures from January to March "look very good" with the company tracking higher sales compared to the same period last year and the fourth quarter of 2011.

ALI booked P1.6 billion and P10.6 billion in net income and revenues, respectively, in the first quarter of 2011 while net income in the fourth quarter hit P1.9 billion.

"We have seen that demand continues to be very high and that translates to positive results for the company," Aquino said. "It's a very good quarter and very strong [performance] across our lines."

ALI sells residential house and lots, as well as condominiums led by brands Ayala Land Premier and Alveo Land which target the upscale and middle-income market, respectively. Its other segments such as Avida and Amaia target the affordable markets, while Bella Vita was launched last year to cater to the socialized housing segment.

"We are across all segments and we should be able to weather problems in any one area. We are also geographically diversified," Aquino said in response to concerns raised by analysts over the reported oversupply in the residential condominium market in Metro Manila.

He said the company will expand further by doubling its current landbank of 4,000 hectares in five years.

ALI shares rose 1.62 percent to P21.90 per share on Wednesday, paring gains of up to 4 percent after its chairman Fernando Zobel said the builder is on track to hit its P10-billion net income goal by 2014.

"Significant growth in both government and private sector spending will fuel the country's economy further and build infrastructure capacity," Zobel said in a speech to shareholders during the meeting. The developer is also targeting to increase its return on equity by 14 percent.

ALI reported that net income last year rose 31 percent to a record of P7.14 billion as revenues added 17 percent to P44.2 billion.

The builder is launching 67 projects this year, including 50 for the residential segment, valued at P90 billion, said Bernard Dy, who heads ALI's residential and commercial business groups.

Dy said the company is launching 200,000 square meters of leasable area in terms of commercial space and another 100,000 sq m for the office segment.

The company is also opening new hotels, namely a Holiday Inn in Makati and its Kukun-branded hotels in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Cagayan de Oro and Davao City.

ALI Chief Financial officer Jaime Ysmael said on Wednesday that the company is preparing to reorganize its capital ahead of a final Supreme Court ruling that seeks to redefine how the 40-percent foreign ownership limit is calculated.

The company is reclassifying 1.97 billion unissued nonvoting preferred shares into voting preferred shares at a par value of P0.10 each. The issuance, expected sometime in May to June, will be done via a one-for-one pre-emptive officer, Ysmael said.

Source: Business Mirror