Countryside fast becoming PH’s engine of growth

The pioneering moves validated other big industry players’ intention to channel their future growth plans into less developed sections of major cities—including those located in the provinces.
According to David dela Cruz, EVP and chief financial officer of Sta. Lucia Land, “Developers are now looking to go provincial due to the increasing scarcity of available land in megacities like Metro Manila and Metro Cebu. We are proud that this has been our company’s brand thrust for decades as we look for progressive, suburban locations in the provinces in order to build residential developments that incorporate retail, restaurant and entertainment venues.”
The Sta Lucia Group is a leading developer of golf courses and one of the prime real estate developers in the Philippines
Dela Cruz noted that the country’s population now moves both from the old and central business districts to more suburban locations.
“This is why SLI is now aggressively expanding in the countryside. Best examples are our current major undertakings like Splendido Taal Golf and Country Club, Orchard Golf, and Country Club, Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club (the company currently boasts 12 world-class golf courses) as well as residential and condotel developments such as Residenze (Cainta, Rizal), Arterra Bayfront Residences (Mactan Island, Cebu), La Breza (Quezon City), and SotoGrande developments in Katipunan, Iloilo, Davao, and Neopolitan, Quezon City,” Dela Cruz explained.

SLI Expansion

Sta. Lucia Land is a giant keenly looking at expanding its presence in Iloilo. A recent announcement on the expansion of four of its current projects namely, Greenmeadows, Metropolis Executive Village, Nottingham Villas, and SotoGrande Iloilo, came after its first venture, the 51-ha Metropolis Executive Village.
Its footprint has since expanded to 262 hectares that included:

  • The 172 ha Greenmeadows that is set to become a regional hub with its planned community mall, mid-rise condominium, and business process outsourcing office buildings;
  • The 51 ha residential community Metropolis Executive Village that is set to expand by six hectares;
  • The 3 ha Nottingham Villas that is also set to expand to include prime commercial areas and residential townhouse units as well as the 6-story SotoGrande Iloilo hotel;
  • The 30 ha property in Sta. Barbara, a new residential development

Twin Lakes Tagaytay is the country’s only vineyard resort community.

Growing confidence

Sta. Lucia Land, another major developer, has been confident about Davao’s growth that it has nine projects in the city, including the 60 ha Davao Riverfront Corporate City, which will also have a business park and residential area.
At the core of Riverfront Corporate City is the 40 ha business park envisioned to further drive the booming local economy. And with influx of people, the master planned development will feature 10 ha residential subdivision that is exclusive, secure and will offer the most comfortable city living; a 5 ha Tourism Center and a 45 ha business park which is allocated for office units, residential condominiums, restaurants, and hotel.
Completing the features of this first-of-its-kind community in Davao are the Crocodile Park, Butterfly House, Rancho Palos Verdes Sports and Country Clubhouse, and St. Paul’s College, which has been fully operational since June 2007.
The Sta. Lucia Group has developed over 10,000 hectares of land through some 210 property projects over the past four decades

Sta Lucia earns 23% more in Q1

MANILA, Philippines – Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (SLI) grew its earnings nearly a fourth in the first three months of the year on the back of higher real estate sales.
In a regulatory filing, SLI said its net income climbed 23 percent in the first quarter to P228 million from P185 million in the same period last year.
The company attributed the higher income to a 61-percent growth in revenues it saw during the quarter at P894 million.
SLI said gross revenues from real estate sales rose 45 percent year-on-year to P614 million.
“The growth was mainly driven by robust sales in horizontal and vertical projects,” SLI said.
To sustain its growth momentum for the rest of the year, SLI said it would continue to develop projects nationwide including locations such as Davao, Rizal, Batangas, Laguna and Pasig City.
As one of the country’s largest subdivision developers with presence in 10 regions across the country, SLI said it currently has a total of 43 ongoing projects in various stages.
The company earlier this year reported acquisitions of properties in Batangas and Iloilo with a combined size of 34.53 hectares as well as 16 joint venture agreements in Davao, Rizal, Pasig, Batangas and Laguna for properties having a combined size of 142.33 hectares.

Real estate sales fuel increase in Sta. Lucia Land's 2014 net income by 83 percent

MANILA, Philippines – Sta. Lucia Land Inc (SLI) earned substantially more in 2014 on the strength of its real estate sales.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SLI said it earned P548 million last year, an 83 percent increase from the P300 million in 2013. Real estate sales grew by 80 percent to P1.445 billion from P801 million over the same period.
According to SLI, bulk of the growth came from sales of the Colinas Verdes Residential Estates (San Jose del Monte, Bulacan), Monte Carlo Tower-Sta. Lucia Residence (Cainta, Rizal), Greenmeadows (Pavia, Iloilo) and Ponte Verde (Davao City).
Rental income from mall operations grew by a slower 3.4 percent to P255 million last year from P247 million in 2013. Growth came from mall expansion, the cost of which tempered the increase.
SLI has 43 projects, most of which are large-scale master-planned subdivision communities in emerging cities and provinces near Metro Manila.

Income surge for Sta. Lucia Land Incorporated

In a statement yesterday, the company said bottom line in 2014 reached P548 million from P300 million, while real estate revenues went up to P1.445 billion from P801 million.
“Majority of the growth came from the sales of Colinas Verdes Residential Estates (San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan), Monte Carlo Tower – Sta Lucia Residenze (Cainta, Rizal), Greenmeadows (Pavia, Iloilo), and Ponte Verde (Davao City),” Sta. Lucia said.
Net rental income from its shopping mall, the Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall, inched up 3.4% to P255 million.
“The increase [in income] due to the opening of the mall expansion was slightly offset by increased structural upgrades and improvements expenses in the existing one,” the company explained.
As a result, earnings per share surged 128% to P.064 “due to the increased income as well as the booking of treasury shares.”
Gross profit margins on real estate sales remain at 47%, while net income margin rose to almost 24% from 22.6%.
Sta. Lucia currently has a total of 43 ongoing projects and remains focused on building large-scale master-planned subdivisions in Metro Manila’s nearby provinces and emerging cities.
Last month, it announced that it entered into 16 new joint venture agreements and acquired several properties in the outskirts of the metropolis, in line with plans to purchase up to 1,000 hectares (ha) of land this year. The new partnerships expanded its land bank by 142.33 ha in Davao, Rizal, Pasig City, Batangas and Laguna. The company also acquired a total of 34.53 ha in the provinces of Batangas and Iloilo.
Some of the projects are “extensions of existing developments,” such as Ponte Verde in Davao, Greenwoods Executive in Pasig City, Metropolis East in Rizal, Golden Meadows in Laguna and Metropolis in Iloilo.
Originally incorporated as Zipporah Mining and Industrial Corp., Sta. Lucia changed its primary purpose to that of a real estate company in 1996. Its portfolio consists of horizontal and vertical properties across the country, as well as its shopping mall in Cainta, Rizal.
Shares in the company gained two centavos or 2.53% to close at 81 centavos each on Thursday. — Daphne J. Magturo

Sta. Lucia Land adds nearly 180 hectares to landbank

LISTED developer Sta. Lucia Land, Inc. on Friday said it entered into 16 new joint venture agreements and acquired several properties outside Metro Manila, in line with plans to purchase up to 1,000 hectares (ha) of land this year.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Sta. Lucia said the new partnerships allowed it to expand its landbank by 142.33 hectares (ha) in Davao, Rizal, Pasig, Batangas and Laguna.
The company also acquired a total of 34.53 hectares in the provinces of Batangas and Iloilo.
“This is a testament to the continuing commitment of the company in focusing its projects in emerging and growing cities nationwide,” Sta. Lucia said.
Some of the projects are “extensions of existing developments,” such as Ponte Verde in Davao, Greenwoods Executive in Pasig, Metropolis East in Rizal, Golden Meadows in Laguna and Metropolis in Iloilo.
“We have new acquisitions almost every quarter. This year, we want to acquire up to 500 ha to 1,000 ha of land,” Sta. Lucia Chief Financial Officer David M. Dela Cruz said in a phone interview yesterday.
Asked about the joint venture model, he explained: “For example, we’re offered a 100-hectare lot and we develop it into 1,000 saleable lots. The ownership could be 50-50 or 60-40. The partner’s contribution is the land, and ours is development. We split the development according to the agreement.”
Originally incorporated in 1996 as Zipporah Mining and Industrial Corp., Sta. Lucia changed its primary purpose to that of a real estate company in 1996. Its portfolio consists of horizontal and vertical properties across the country, as well as a shopping mall in Cainta — the Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall.
Shares in the company shed two centavos or 2.35% to end the week at 83 centavos apiece. —with report from Krista Angela Montealegre

Sta Lucia Land, Inc. 3rd Quarter 2014 Net Income Up By 112%

Sta Lucia Land Inc. (SLI) more than doubled its net income of P 426 Million for the 3 rd quarter of the year, 112% higher than its year-ago level of P 201 Million.

Gross revenues from real estate sales increased by 94% while accompanying cost and expenses grew by only 35%. The growth was mainly driven by robust sales in Bulacan, Davao and Iloilo and sales from over 36 other projects.

As a result, net income margin grew from 22% to just under 30%. “Our improvement in our financial performance is a reflection of our success in our strategy in providing quality residential projects outside Metro Manila which captures the broadbased economic growth of the country.”, says SLI EVP and CFO David dela Cruz. Moving forward, the Company will leverage its retail and commercial assets by building integrated communities around its already built and sold gated subdivisions, which when combined with the parent company, numbers to over 220 developments.

With this, the Company is on track to achieve its goals for the 2014. The Company also recently opened its new expansion mall called IL Centro which is located at the Sta Lucia East Grand Mall commercial complex and has a total gross floor area of 50,000 sqms.

Total combined gross leasable area of the company’s malls now add up to over 124,000 sqms.