Township developer Megaworld Corporation expects to continue recovering this year from the impact of the pandemic and sees stronger growth compared to 2021.
“We already started to focus on growth again. Consequently, we are targeting higher reservation sales this year, and are expanding our launch pipeline...as compared to the previous year,” said Megaworld Chief Strategy Officer Kevin L. Tan.
He added that, “our positive outlook has been affirmed by our strong performance in the beginning of this year, with all business segments registering double digit growth in revenues.”
Meanwhile, despite some business process outsourcing firms opting to allow employees to work from home, Tan said “we continue to have a positive outlook on the prospects of the office sector.”
He noted that, “while recent trends in in favor of work from home may have some impact on demand, we believe that most BPOs will have to avail of the PEZA incentives and gradually return back to Office.”
Tan said they continue to receive a lot of inquiries for office spaces Megaworld’s occupancy rate has improved in the first quarter of this year to 91 percent, higher than the industry average of 81 to 84 percent.
He also pointed out that “despite all the challenges brought about by rising commodity prices, we've been able to successfully maintain, if not increase, our margins, as seen by our results this past several quarters.”
“Our cost management efforts continue to bear fruit, and this was complemented by the continued appreciation in the underlying values of our various properties, allowing us to maintain margins for newer projects,” Tan said.
Megaworld is increasing its planned capital expenditures by 39 percent this year to P50 billion as it banks on improved mobility and a more revitalized economy this year.
The firm said around 75 percent of this year’s budget will be spent for real estate developments, particularly on the construction of new residential properties and land development of townships, while 25 percent will be used for investment properties and land banking.
Last year, actual capital spending reached around P38 billion, almost 6 percent higher than the programmed spending as eased restrictions allowed the resumption of construction activities during the period.
“We have accelerated some projects to pave the way for opportunities coming from the pandemic recovery,” said Tan. The company is launching four additional townships across the country this year: one in Metro Manila, two in CALABARZON, and another one in Mindanao.
These new townships will cover around 500 hectares of land, which will be injected into the company’s existing land bank of around 4,500 hectares.
“This will bring the total number of Megaworld’s townships to 32 this year. We look forward to further expanding our portfolio of residential, office, hotel, and mall properties in these new areas that are considered among the key growth centers in the country today,” said Tan.
The firm is also scheduled to launch 14 new residential and commercial lot projects with a total sales value of P30 billion in Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, Bacolod, Iloilo, Pampanga, Taguig, Las Piñas, Pasig, Palawan, Bulacan, and Makati.
Currently, Megaworld has 28 integrated urban townships, integrated lifestyle communities, and lifestyle estates in around 30 cities across the country.