PUBLICLY listed firm Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) said on Tuesday that growth momentum will continue this year as its top honcho pronounced the company targets to achieve a consolidated net income growth of 19.82 percent to P2.6 billion this year.

The leading local developer in Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin) aims to increase its net income attributable to parent by 19.76 percent to P2 billion by end of 2019, CLI Chairman and CEO Jose Soberano III.

Topline-wise, CLI seeks to generate revenues of P8.4 billion, 25 percent higher than the P6.7 billion posted last year. Reservation sales guidance was set at P12.5 billion, also a 25-percent hike year-on-year (YoY) from P9.8 billion.

“Cebu Landmasters will continue to focus on rolling out projects for the growing VisMin market. We are now moving into new key cities in the region as we expand our developments in existing ones,” Soberano said on the sidelines of their annual stockholders’ meeting.

Soon, the regional developer will be rolling out developments in the new expansion areas of Bohol and Iloilo as negotiations to acquire lands in the cities of Ormoc, Roxas and General Santos are being finalized. Also, it is firming up negotiations for a township project in Cagayan de Oro and a 20-hectare property in Mandaue City.

At present, CLI leads the real-estate industry in the VisMin region with 61 projects in eight growth cities—Cebu, Mandaue, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Iloilo and Bohol—all in different stages of development.

In Davao, its flagship 22-hectare Davao Global Township (DGT) project is aimed at transforming the Davao Golf Club into an iconic central business district.

A few years from now, rental operations are seen driving the business expansion of the company as it expects 10 percent of aggregate revenues to come from recurring business by 2023. Gross leasable area  across different projects are also projected to exceed 200,000 square meters, including the 7,400 sq.m. GLA at Base Line Center, 11,600 sq.m. at Latitude and 13,000 sq.m. at Astra Corporate Center—all located in Cebu.

Hospitality is another growth spot for CLI. Given the five hotels on the drawing board, the real- estate firm is set to operate over 1,100 hotel rooms within the next four years.

First to be finished is the Citadines Cebu City—the first of its four hotels to be managed by The Ascott Ltd.—with 180 rooms. This is scheduled to commence operations this year. Other hotels to be managed by The Ascott Ltd. are Citadines Paragon Davao, Citadines Bacolod City and lyf Cebu City.

The property developer also executed a partnership deal with the Radisson Hotel Group for the first Radisson Red in the Philippines, which will be in Astra Centre in Cebu.

Plans are under way for another hotel as part of the Patria de Cebu redevelopment. This landmark structure used to be a recreation center for Catholic youth back in the 1950s and will be transformed into a mixed-use project.

As for its first foray into resorts operations, CLI is just waiting for negotiations for a property in Mactan to be finalized. It has also set its sights on finalizing plans for the reclamation of the 100-hectare Ming-Mori Techno Park in Minglanilla, Cebu.

Phase 1 of the 22-hectare Davao Matina Business District is targeted for completion by the third quarter of 2023.

Soberano guaranteed investors the company will carry on its main goal to further improve shareholder value and achieve long-term targets.

“We continue to see steady demand for the property company’s developments providing guidance on expected earnings performance. We will also continue to expand our footprint and fortify our being the leading local developer in VisMin—building with the customers in mind and developing a masterpiece at a time.”

CLI posted an impressive 72-percent hike in net income to P2.17 billion in 2018 from P1.26 billion two years ago due to positive market response to its ongoing projects.

Net income attributable to parent company also rose by 36 percent to P1.66 billion YoY. The growth momentum of the regional property developer was sustained as consolidated revenues reached P6.76 billion, 72 percent higher than the P3.94 billion reported in 2017. – Roderick Abad

Published in Business Mirror