Sta. Lucia Land Inc., a property developer in second- and third-tier cities, said its board has approved the acquisition of a total of 78.47 hectares of land as it beefs up its land banking activities to support its expansion plans.
The company said the properties are in key growth areas in Davao, Rizal, Laguna, Batangas and Pangasinan.
These properties include some 2.97 hectares of land in Batangas, 24.16 hectares in Laguna, 13.95 hectares in Davao, 13.36 hectares in Pangasinan and 24.05 hectares in Rizal.
Its board also approved the company’s formation of joint ventures, which will oversee the development of a total of 59.32 hectares of land across Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.
The project includes 5.77 hectares of land in Batangas, 9.59 hectares in Cavite and 2.89 hectares in Rizal.
The board has given its go-signal to the company’s plan to tap credit facilities for up to P1.52 billion from established banks and financial institutions to finance its strategic land acquisitions as well as ongoing and future project developments.
In particular, board resolutions had authorized Sta. Lucia to obtain a credit line facility of up to P200 million from Unicapital Inc. and Unicapital Finance and Investments Inc.; a short-term loan facility of up to P300 million from several creditors also through Unicapital; a loan and/or other credit accommodations and facilities for up to P525 million from Union Bank of the Philippines; and a short-term loan facility for up to P500 million from several creditors through Amalgamated Investment Bancorporation.
“Sta. Lucia’s continued expansion signaled its continued bullishness and confidence in the local real estate market, despite the difficulties dealt by this ongoing pandemic,” the company said.
Earlier this year, the company embarked on joint ventures and land acquisitions in key growth areas which also include Cavite, Rizal, Batangas, Bulacan, Laguna, Iloilo, Davao and Cotabato.
For the three quarters of 2021, the company said it posted a 44-percent increase in net income to P1.84 billion from the P1.28 billion it recorded in the same period in 2020.
Revenues grew 26 percent to P5.74 billion from the previous P4.53 billion.
For the third quarter alone, however, its income fell 22 percent to P406.66 million from the previous P522.8 million, while revenues also slowed down by 15 percent to P1.77 billion from the previous P2.1 billion
Total assets, meanwhile, rose to P50.59 billion while total equity grew to P19.42 billion as the company continues to use its earnings to finance its growth plans. These earnings have also allowed the company to distribute cash dividends by yearend amounting to P327.85 million.
To date, the company and its parent firm, Sta. Lucia Group, have already built more than 250 projects across the country.
