Robinsons to build more residential projects in 2013

MANILA, Philippines – Robinsons Land Corp. will launch more residential projects than originally planned this year, said its President and COO Frederick Go, citing improved demand for the developments.

Go said the residential segment was a surprise to the company.

“In the past, most people thought that our residential business would be either negative or flat but it’s turning out to be very robust. Our sales are quite robust. We’re expecting our residential business to outperform expectations,” he said on the sidelines of the 16th Outstanding Filipino Retailers and Shopping Centers of the Year Awards Night on January 22, Tuesday.

On the back of this growth, Robinsons, owned by the Gokongwei group, will launch at least 6 residential projects this year. These will be located in growing central business district areas such as Ortigas, Manila and Quezon City.

“Our original plan is not to be more aggressive but if sales continue to remain very good, we might. In fact, we initially thought of launching 4 so we’re increasing it now slightly,” said Go.

Last year, the property developer launched 5 projects across its Robinsons Residences, Robinsons Communities and Robinsons Homes brands.

The property developer will boost its capital spending to P13 billion in its fiscal year ending September 2013 to bankroll land acquisition and construction.

Robinsons runs 4 different business segments: residential, shopping center, office leasing and hotel.

The conglomerate reported a 7% increase in net income to P4.2 billion in its fiscal year 2012, slower than the 10% growth to P3.97 billion in 2011.

Last year, the residential division was the only segment under Robinsons that saw a decrease in revenue contribution, with a 5% contraction to P4.3 billion from P4.51 billion the previous year due to “lower project completion of various ongoing projects.” – Rappler.com