FILINVEST LAND, Inc. (FLI) posted a 41% fall in net income attributable to equity holders to P3.73 billion in 2020, which its top official described as a year when the listed property developer faced a “formidable opponent.”
“Filinvest is no stranger to crises as we have weathered several economic and political upheaval in the past. There is no doubt that COVID19 is a formidable opponent whose grasp transcended industries and countries across the globe,” said Lourdes Josephine Gotianun Yap, FLI president and chief executive officer.
Gross revenues for the year declined by 32% to P17.49 billion, with residential revenues sliding by 42% to P9.84 billion, the listed property developer said in a press release on Tuesday.
Office leasing revenues rose by 8% to P5.56 billion last year. FLI is a provider of office spaces to business process outsourcing companies.
In the fourth quarter, the company said residential revenues climbed by 50% to P3.17 billion from P2.12 billion in the third quarter. It did not give a comparative quarterly figure for 2019.
FLI said the easing of community quarantine restrictions helped increase mall foot traffic, which boosted mall revenues by 66% quarter on quarter. The company did not disclose specific figures.
It said proceeds from office leasing cushioned its recurring income from both retail and office leasing business from the impact of the pandemic. It ended the year with a 9% drop in aggregate rental revenues to P6.39 billion.
The company said it would continue supporting its retail tenants by granting rental concessions to help them sustain their businesses.
“We remain optimistic that the recovery trend we’ve seen in the last quarter of 2020 will be sustained well in 2021 as we maintain our priority in serving the needs of our stakeholders while keeping our employees safe and healthy,” Ms. Gotianun Yap said.
“We believe that our contactless transactions and customer service channels as well as our aggressive digital marketing strategy buoyed our recovery,” she added.
The company said it saw a “healthy rebound” in residential reservation sales in the fourth quarter, as a result of its online initiatives. Market demand for the middle-income housing segment also increased.
The company said its residential sales benefited from the resumption of construction and normalized amortizations in the second half of the year.
The company has 31 office buildings under its belt, with 11 buildings set to be completed within the next two years. FLI’s total gross leasable area spans over 750,000 square meters in Metro, Manila, Clark, and Cebu.
In 2020, FLI was able to raise P8.1 billion for its capital expenditure program by issuing three- to 5.5-year peso fixed-rate bonds in November, with an oversubscription rate of P1.35 billion over the P6.75 billion base amount. The bonds received a PRS Aaa rating, the highest credit rating from the Philippine Rating Services Corp.
“We experience continued support from our banking partners for our bank take outs which will allow us to continue to build the Filipino dream while sustaining our financial strength,” Ms. Gotianun Yap said.
FLI said it would focus on completing key office building projects this year, as well as developing the first phase of the Filinvest Innovation Park in New Clark City, and the continued rollout of Aspire and Future mid-rise buildings, along with housing residential developments across the country.
It will also enter the real estate investment trust (REIT) market through its subsidiary Cyberzone Properties, Inc., which filed on Friday its registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering.
“The REIT will initially cover 17 buildings mostly located in Northgate Cyberzone, a PEZA-accredited business hub in Filinvest City, Alabang, Muntinlupa,” Ms. Gotianun Yap said.
FLI shares at the exchange moved up by 0.91% or P0.01 on Tuesday to close at P1.11 apiece. — Karen Concepcion G. Valmonte