For Robinsons Land Corporation, which has seen its capital expenditure rising in the last couple of years, it has been money well spent, as 2018 proved to be a record-setting year.
In 2016, the company allotted P16 billion for capex, followed by P24.5 billion in 2017, used to primarily fund mall and office development and land acquisition. For the calendar year 2019, on the back of a 39.76 percent increase in net income last year, RLC is setting aside approximately P27 billion of its retained earnings for domestic capital expenditures. To be funded through internally generated cash from operations and loans, the amount will be used for the acquisition of “subdivision land, condominium, residential units and other real estate properties for sale, development and expansion of investment properties and property and equipment,” according to the company.
Incorporated in 1980, Robinsons Land Corporation is the real estate arm of JG Summit Holdings Inc., and is now recognized as one of the leading real estate and property developers in the Philippines. It has five business divisions: Commercial Centers, Residential, Office Buildings, Hotels and Resorts, and Industrial and Integrated Developments.
With the newly completed Exxa and Zeta Towers in Bridgetowne along with other developments, RLC's Office Buildings Division's revenues soared to P4.29 billion.
In 2018, revenues from real estate operations—the leasing of commercial spaces in Robinsons Malls, office spaces, and warehouse facilities along with sales of residential units and parcels of land—accounted for 93 percent of the company’s total audited revenues. The remaining 7 percent was derived from RLC’s growing hotel operations (new hotels include Summit Galleria Cebu, Summit Hotel Tacloban and Go Hotels Iligan). RLC had total gross revenues of P29.55 billion for the calendar year 2018, a substantial increase from 2017’s P22.52 billion, equivalent to 31.2 percent growth.
Robinsons Galleria's new look, courtesy of an intensive renovation, was unveiled in 2018.
Among the five divisions, the Commercial Centers Division brought in the highest contribution to 2018 gross revenues with P11.94 billion, equivalent to 40.4 percent of RLC’s total earnings; followed by the Residential division’s revenues of P8.69 billion (29.41 percent); Office Buildings Division’s P4.29 billion (14.52 percent); IID Division’s P2.64 billion (8.93 percent); and the Hotels and Resorts Division’s P1.98 billion (6.7 percent).
RLC's Residential Division contributed P8.69 billion to the company's total revenues.
While it was only the second in terms of revenue contribution, the Residential Division posted the year’s most substantial gains, improving 32.6 percent from the 6.55 billion figure it posted in 2017. Coming in next is the equally impressive performance of the Office Buildings Division, which grew by 31.4 percent year on year, due in part to increased rental rates as well as the contribution from offices completed in 2017 (Cyber Sigma, Cybergate Delta, Cybergate Naga and Robinsons Luisita office) and 2018 (Exxa Tower, Zeta Tower, and Cyberscape Gamma). It also opened the flexible office/workspace, work.able, in 2018.
Aside from growth in gross revenues and net income, RLC expanded its asset base, for a total of P174.16 billion as of December 31, 2018, growing 17.6 percent from P148.13 billion in 2017. As SGV, the firm’s auditors note, RLC’s “performance and profitability are anchored on the strength of the Philippine economy that is largely driven by private consumption, remittances from OFWs, growth of the IT-BPM (Information Technology and Business Process Management) sector, flourishing tourism industry, and a low interest rate environment.” With the record P27 billion capex allotted for this year, RLC is maintaining a positive outlook for the entire industry.
For more information on Robinsons Land, contact (632) 397-1888 or visit www.robinsonsland.com
