CLI earmarks P12 billion capex for 2021

CEBU, Philippines — Noting the sustaining high demand for new normal properties, Cebuano developer Cebu Landmasters Inc (CLI) is poised to spend P12 billion in 2021.

This was announced by CLI chairman and CEO Jose Soberano III during the company’s Investors’ and Analysts’ briefing held Wednesday.

The P12 billion capital expenditure will be spent on expanding the firm’s landbank and complete its ongoing development including Latitude Corporate Center which is expected to increase total GLA to more than 28,000 sqm, almost double from 2020.

The company reported P 8.30 billion in consolidated revenues in 2020, closely matching 2019’s P8.50 billion resulting from “the immediate deployment of catch-up measures shortly after the relaxation of lockdowns triggered by the pandemic in the first half of 2020,”.

Revenues grew by 18 percent from the third quarter’s P2.20 billion to P2.59 billion in the fourth quarter.

 Despite lockdowns that restricted construction activities and hampered movement across various sites, the company ended the challenging Fiscal Year (FY) 2020  environment with a P1.85B parent NIAT, only an eight percent decline versus its 2019 figures which the company has attributed to its market-leading VisMin advantage and sustained demand across its residential product line.

“We have learned much from this pandemic and look forward to offering safe and healthy homes and communities to address not only the great housing backlog in VisMin but also what families really need,” Soberano highlighted.

CLI bucked the pessimistic trend by beating its 2019 reservations sales performance with record P14.25 billion of new sales in 2020 versus only P12.67 billion in 2019, a 12 percent rise.

The company’s economic housing brand Casa Mira accounted for 69 percent of 2020 sales; its mid-market Garden Series, 19 percent, and high-end Premier Masters, 10 percent, Strong sales take-up also resulted in unrealized revenue of P20.4 billion.

“There is a real estate boom and a global trend towards safer and healthier homes. With CLI’s agility, we’re able to take advantage of this new kind of demand,” said Soberano.

CLI ended the year with an additional 4,300 homes added to its inventory spread over nine projects worth P11.4 billion. Newly launched projects were 71 percent sold by the end of 2020.

Other revenue contributors included the leasing income business, which accounted for P55.2 million while maintaining a healthy occupancy rate of 79 percent.

Meanwhile, Citadines Cebu City, CLI’s first hotel project posted P54.6 million in room rentals with an average occupancy of almost 50 percent. for the year.

The company is expected to resume its growth trajectory, targeting 15 percent - 20 percent upside.

CLI has a total of 25 projects on the pipeline; 15 of these are P19 billion residential developments that will be launched in 2021, supplying over 7,500 units to the sustainable housing market.