Megaworld income rises 11%

MANILA, Philippines - Megaworld Corp. reported a net income of P6.03 billion in the first half, up 11 percent from the same period last year on the back of strong office and commercial leasing operations.

“It has been a strong first half for Megaworld as we continue the trajectory of our rental income while maintaining revenues for our residential business. Across businesses, there is an indication that we will continue our double digit growth until the end of the year,” said Francis Canuto, senior vice president and treasurer of Megaworld.

The rental business – offices, malls, commercial centers – remained the primary contributor to the growth in the first half.  Rental income increased 20 percent to P5.83 billion.

In terms of total leasable space, the company has already breached the one million square meter mark — both office and commercial space — with its developments nationwide.

Office space inventory stood at 851,000 square meters while commercial and retail spaces reached 273,000 sqm.

Canuto said this shows that Megaworld remains the largest office developer and lessor in the country.

“We are well-positioned to retain this leadership as we are on-track to surpass the one-million square meter mark in office space inventory alone by the end of this year,” he said.

Aside from office, commercial and residential, Megaworld has also been ramping up its hotel business, which rose 10 percent to P648 million.

“On the long term, we see our hotel operations to be a major contributor to our growth as we continue accelerate our hotel developments to support the country’s tourism industry. For Megaworld Group alone, we hope to complete an additional 3,500 rooms in our hotel portfolio in the next five years,” Canuto said.

During the second quarter, the company launched its third homegrown hotel brand in Boracay Newcoast, the 559-room Savoy Hotel Boracay, which is known to have the country’s first-ever party pool arena.