Megaworld posts record-high income

MANILA, Philippines — Property giant Megaworld Corp. saw its earnings in the second quarter and first half surge to record-high levels, driven by growth across its core businesses of residential, leasing and hospitality.

Megaworld said its net income for the first half climbed by 23 percent year-on-year to P12.09 billion, while second quarter earnings rose by 31 percent to P6.26 billion.

Revenues for the first half expanded by 10 percent to P43.09 billion.

“Our strong first half and second quarter results reaffirm the strength and adaptability of our township strategy. We are always focused on ensuring that our core segments will continue to deliver exceptional performance even in challenging environments,” Megaworld president and CEO Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso said.

Contribution of new assets and leases as well as sustained rent escalations boosted office leasing revenues by 17 percent to P7.4 billion in the first half.

The company said that Megaworld Premier Offices closed nearly 100,000 square meters in new leases during the quarter, driven by expansions from top-tier BPOs and multinational companies, including several Fortune 500 companies located in key townships.

Leasing revenues of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls also increased by 10 percent to P3.33 billion during the six-month period amid growing consumer foot traffic and new leases to premium tenants.

Megaworld said that more than 30,000 square meters of new tenant openings were recorded by its lifestyle malls during the first half, including new brands such as Japan’s home furniture and decor store Nitori, Korea’s fashion retail store 8Seconds and China’s lifestyle novelty store KKV.

Megaworld’s hospitality business, meanwhile, benefited from higher room rates and room keys, registering a 19-percent growth in hotel revenues to P2.81 billion from January to June.

Real estate sales also improved by nine percent year-on-year to P27.12 billion, supported by strong residential demand across projects in both Metro Manila and key growth centers in the provinces, along with ongoing project completions.

“What excites us most is the broad-based strength we are seeing – offices, malls, residential and hotels are all growing. That gives us confidence as we scale further,” Gutierrez-Alfonso said.

“We’re pushing forward with more townships, smarter spaces and deeper integration across our developments, but at the same time, making sure that we build responsibly and sustainably,” she said.

With 36 townships covering approximately 7,000 hectares in its portfolio at present, Megaworld said that it is on track to launch another expansive township development within the year as part of its continued expansion in the provinces.

The company is also looking to grow its office gross leasable area to two million square meters by 2030 and its retail GLA to one million square meters in five years.

The targets will bring Megaworld’s total leasing portfolio GLA to three million square meters by 2030.