Property giant Ayala Land Inc. slashed its capital expenditure budget for the year as geopolitical volatility in the Middle East forces the recalibration of its growth strategy.

In an analysts’ briefing for its first quarter performance, ALI President and CEO Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy said the company reduced its spending guidance to ₱50 billion, a cut of as much as 38 percent from the ₱70 billion to ₱80 billion range it projected in February before the outbreak of conflict in Iran.

Bautista-Dy said the developer is prioritizing capital for residential projects nearing turnover and shopping centers scheduled to open through 2027. 
“The projects that we are really focusing on now are in later stages of construction, or later stages of completion,” she said, adding that they are also reducing capex for landbanking and focusing on developing its existing estates with a total of 800 hectares.

ALI started the year with a launch target of ₱30 billion, Dy said, “Given current conditions, we are reviewing launches carefully. As the operating environment becomes clearer, we remain optimistic that we can proceed with selected horizontal launches by the second half of the year.”

However, she said, “the uncertainties around cost and execution drove us to cancel our Avida-Katipunan Heights and pause our Laurean (Residences) project. These were well-received projects in strong locations but, but because construction had not yet begun, we had the ability to act early, minimize disruption. We will revisit opportunities when cost visibility and market conditions improve.”

This year, ALI has ₱130 billion worth of inventory that it will monetize and this gives the company the depth to maintain market leadership while being more selective on new launches.

Proceeds will be used prudently to preserve balance sheet strength, fund priority investments, and return capital to shareholders where appropriate.

ALI will deliver 13,000 residential units in 40 projects to its buyers this year.

For its shopping centers business, ALI is on track to deliver an additional 190,000 square meters of gross leasable area this year, as well as complete the reinventions of its flagship malls by the middle of the year.

Meanwhile, its office business will open another 70,000 square meters of office GLA, all of which will be located within its estates.

“Beyond 2026, we have a pipeline of 250,000 square meters of GLA, which will be located in major CBDs, such as Makati, BGC, Quezon City, and Cebu,” Dy said.

ALI invested a total of ₱23 billion for the first quarter, in line with its original capex plan, with notable increase in investments in leasing and hospitality, which increased by 53 percent versus same period last year.

“Investments in leasing and hospitality now account for more than a quarter of our total capital expenditure. We expect this share to continue to increase for the rest of the year,” said ALI Chief Finance Officer Jose Eduardo A. Quimpo II.