By Denise A. Valdez, Senior Reporter
CEBU LANDMASTERS, Inc. posted an attributable net income of P709.78 million in the third quarter, slowing by 11% from last year but growing more than triple from P219.57 million in the second quarter.
In a regulatory filing, the Cebu-based property developer said it generated total revenues of P2.2 billion in the three-month period, down 10% compared to year-ago levels. But on a quarterly basis, its top line improved 57%.
Year-to-date, Cebu Landmasters’ attributable net income stood at P1.5 billion, down 9% from a year ago. Revenues likewise dipped 4% to P5.71 billion.
In a virtual media briefing on Monday, company officials noted that Cebu Landmasters’ nine-month performance has been moving closer to its pre-pandemic level.
“While Cebu Landmasters was affected just like everyone else in the industry during the pandemic…, we could see that we still performed relatively well. And I think this is due to the unique competitive advantages of Cebu Landmasters as a real estate developer in VisMin,” Beauregard Grant L. Cheng, chief finance officer of the company, said in the briefing.
“Just knowing how to navigate the local regulatory environment here to be able to find ways to continue our construction activities (was a huge help)… Because the fundamental market dynamics have not changed, which is that there is a lot of housing backlog here in VisMin in the market segments that we serve,” he added.
Cebu Landmasters reached record-high sales take-up of P10.5 billion in the nine-month period, exceeding last year’s level by 14%. It is also continuing to build up unrecognized revenues, which hit P17.9 billion or 18% higher than last year.
The company noted its buyer mix has changed in the past months of the pandemic, such that overseas Filipino workers (OFW) were replaced by local buyers.
“Before the pandemic, OFWs accounted for 30-40% of our sales. During the pandemic, that went down to about 20-22%. But if you see the amount of sales and revenue we were able to generate, it actually went up. What this means is they were quickly replaced by locally-employed demand from Philippine-based buyers,” Mr. Cheng said.
Heading into the last weeks of the year, Cebu Landmasters said it is planning launch a few more projects located in Cebu, Davao, Ormoc, Cagayan de Oro, and Dumaguete.
“We are on-track to hit our year-end guidance of plus minus 10% versus last year’s performance. I think this speaks of the strength of Cebu Landmasters in this region,” Jose Franco B. Soberano, chief operating officer, said in the briefing.
Cebu Landmasters booked an attributable net income of P2.01 billion in 2019.
Shares in the company closed at P4.70 apiece on Monday, unchanged from its close in the last session.