Company cites Innovation, Resilience and Growth, Sustainability as core guiding principles
[August 27, 2020] With a strong balance sheet and increased liquidity, the listed real estate firm Century Properties Group [CPG:PM] said it is well positioned to continue its expansion to leasing and affordable housing, and face the Next Normal guided by the principles of Innovation, Resilience and Growth, and Sustainability.
President and Chief Executive Officer Marco R. Antonio addressed stockholders in an online meeting on Thursday, where he noted that CPG maintains a positive outlook at these two high-growth business segments and will continue to “diversify our portfolio towards the original goal of balanced contributions from affordable housing, commercial leasing, and in-city vertical developments businesses,” he said.
In the first half of 2020, CPG saw the combined net income contributions from the two business segments jump to Php225 million or 42% of the total net income of P546 million, compared with the 29% contribution level of the same period last year. Their combined revenue contribution is at Php 1.27 billion or 28% from 15% last year.
CPG Executive Chairman Jose E.B. Antonio said while there might be some perceived softening in the market due to prevailing economic sentiments, the company sees affordable housing demand to continue “as it serves the need of a real market, that is, first home buyers, especially for quality and strategically located projects. The same is true for office leasing, especially for projects located within developments that are ecosystems in themselves, such us our project in Century City, Makati, where we have residential, office and commercial establishments.” he said.
The company’s affordable housing brand, PHirst Park Homes, announced in July that it is launching its 7th community in Magalang, Pampanga later this year. PHirst has maintained its sales momentum and posted reservation sales of 1,548 units for the first six months of 2020 worth Php3.120 billion from six projects in Tanza, Cavite; San Pablo and Calamba, Laguna; Pandi, Bulacan; and Lipa and Nasugbu, Batangas totaling 97 hectares.
For commercial leasing, CPG announced on August 25 that it added 25,000 square meters of floor area to its commercial leasing portfolio, growing it to 137,000 square meters of gross floor area this year after it acquired the 40% stake of joint venture partner Mitsubishi Corporation’s subsidiary in the newly-completed, PEZA-accredited Century Diamond Tower in Makati. The company has bulked up its recurring income assets threefold since 2017.
For its core guiding principles moving forward, the company seeks to take on new market opportunities with a focus on innovation, resilience and growth, and sustainability.
Under Innovation, a core value of CPG through which several first-in-industry concepts were born, CPG President and CEO Marco R. Antonio said the company will utilize the exponential capabilities of technology to serve altered customer preferences, address pain points, and deliver more efficient services. Antonio shared that the company accelerated the digital programs it started years back, and now has in place among various systems the CPG Digital Homebuying Experience, an end to end service that assists homebuyers throughout their customer journey.
Under Resilience and Growth, Antonio said CPG will continue its sound financial management to maintain the strong balance sheet it has achieved in 2019, increase its liquidity levels by reducing operational expenses and capital expenditures through phased launches, diversify revenue sources through affordable housing and leasing, and ensure workforce wellbeing and safety.
Under Sustainability, the company will adapt a new-generation approach of doing things and create New-Generation Real Estate that will seek to address the need for: Creating sustainable, environmentally conscious and healthy communities; Strengthening disaster resiliency, safety, and emergency preparedness measures; and Supporting the shift towards distributed urbanism or de-centralization.
“These 3 Core Guiding Principles will be our way forward: We will confront challenges as innovators. We will maintain business resilience with an eye towards growth. And we will view the world with an evolved vision towards sustainability,” Antonio said.
