GERI profits P1.6B in 9 months

The growth in our real estate revenues will be underpinned by project launches from our new and existing townships and integrated lifestyle communities.

An upsurge in tourism-related receipts has allowed GERI, a unit of property developer Megaworld, to report 26 percent more income in the first nine months to P1.6 billion.

Megaworld Corp. unit Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI) on Monday reported 26 percent higher net income in the first nine months of the year, to P1.6 billion from P1.2 billion in the same period last year due to strong growth in its rental and hotel businesses.

The Tan-led property developer said excluding non-recurring gains, net profits rose 10 percent to P1.4 billion. Net income attributable to the parent company also increased 9 percent to P1.4 billion.

GERI’s revenues climbed 19 percent to P5.9 billion in the January to September period as hotel operations surge 430 percent to P665 million from P126 million last year, on the back of the opening of projects Twin Lakes and Boracay Newcoast.

On the other hand, rental revenues nearly doubled to P571 million from P294 million in the same nine-month period in 2018.

“Our continuing thrust to help boost tourism in the country is even gaining more momentum as we open more hotels across our tourism townships,” GERI president Monica T. Salomon was quoted as saying in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

For the company’s rental business, Solomon said GERI has completed and fully leased-out the Southwoods Office Towers, the full-year rental revenues of which will be realized this year.

Meanwhile, real estate sales stood at a stable P4.2 billion, or 70 percent of GERI’s total revenues in the period due to the sale of residential and commercial lots and condominium units.

“The growth in our real estate revenues will be underpinned by project launches from our new and existing townships and integrated lifestyle communities. Moving forward, this should be

sustainable as the company has a huge land bank for both vertical and horizontal developments,” Solomon said.

GERI and parent firm Megaworld are jointly developing a 251-hectare property between Trece Martires and Tanza, Cavite dubbed the Arden Botanical Estate.