Belle Corp earnings rise 15% to P181.3 million in first half

MANILA, Philippines -  High-end leisure developer and gaming firm Belle Corp. said its net earnings rose 15 percent in the first half of the year to P181.3 million on higher revenues from lot sales.

In a financial report submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Belle said realized income from real estate operations amounted to P282.4 million, also 15 percent higher than the P245.1 million recorded the previous year.

Net revenue from operating sources went up seven percent to P660.5 million from P615.8 million, mainly due to higher revenues from sales of lots at Fairfield of Saratoga Hills residential subdivision and Lakeside Fairways. Because of the higher revenues, gross profit grew 18 percent to P378.2 million.

Meanwhile, total operating expenses, including depreciation and amortization, slightly increased to P85.4 million from P84.8 million.

Future revenues of the company will be coming from phases seven and eight of Lakeside Fairways and the second phase of Fairfield, which Belle plans to launch later this year.

Construction of all four existing phases of Belle’s farmlots project, Plantation Hills (The Sanctuary, The Ridge, The Meadows and The Heights), were fully completed as of December 2007.

Land development for The Parks at Saratoga Hills, a house-and-lot subdivision and The Verandas at Saratoga Hills, a lots-only subdivision, were also fully completed as of December 2007. The Parks was launched in 2005, while The Verandas was launched during the fourth quarter of 2006. As of June 30, 2010, the first four phases of Lakeside Fairways (Kew Gardens, Terrazas de Alava, Lakeside Enclave and Tivoli Place), a lots-only subdivision located south of the existing Tagaytay Midlands golf course and launched in 2007, were 97 percent completed and more than 86 percent sold and reserved.

Cotswold, the fifth phase of Lakeside Fairways, launched in 2008, was 86 percent completed and approximately sold and reserved as of end-June this year.

Although the sixth phase of Lakeside Fairways (Katsura) was launched only in 2009, the project was already 86 percent completed and was approximately 72 percent sold and reserved as of June 30, 2010. The Fairfield at Saratoga Hills, a subdivision adjacent to The Verandas that was launched in the last quarter of 2009, was already 86 percent completed and was approximately 56 percent sold and reserved as of June 30, 2010.

lnterest expense declined 11 percent to P96.2 million. However, with the depreciation of the peso against the dollar to 46.37 as of June 30, 2010, from 46.20 as of Dec. 31, 2009, the company recorded a P3.7-million foreign exchange translation loss for the first half on its dollar-denominated debt of $22 million. Comparatively, the company had a foreign exchange translation loss of P13.5 million in the 2009 period, as the peso depreciated to 48.13 as of June last year.

Belle’s equity in net earnings of associated companies decreased nine percent to P59.2 million from P65.1 million. Equitized share in net earnings were from Belle’s 35 percent-owned associate, Pacific Online Systems Corp. and its 36 percent-owned associate, Highlands Prime lnc. (HPl). Pacific Online leases on-line equipment to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office for their lottery operations in the Visayas and Mindanao, while HPI is also engaged in real estate development.

As of end-June this year, Belle had total assets of P10.07 billion and cash and cash equivalents of P130.7 million.