Listed property developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. said Tuesday net profit in the nine months through September rose 7 percent to P2.32 billion, driven higher by still robust real estate demand in its home market in the Visayas and Mindanao. Consolidated revenue for the January-September period rose 9.2 percent to P14.1 billion.
Property sales fueled total revenue and was up by 8.7 percent to P13.8 billion. Strong construction progress and the sale of commercial lots bolstered property sales.
CLI has launched P8.2 billion worth of new projects since January, adding 1,664 residential units to its portfolio. These projects were developed with a balanced mix of 57 percent targeted for the mid-market segment and 32 percent for the economic segment. The new projects are already 89 percent sold out, underscoring strong demand for CLI’s projects despite growing competition from major real estate players from Manila.
Grant Cheng, chief financial officer and executive vice president of CLI, said the entry of major developers in their home turf is a testament to the still-growing demand for real estate development in the Visayas and Mindanao. He said the entry of major real estate players such as Ayala Land, Alphaland, and Filinvest Land will bring with it lower cost of materials as well as more banks to provide buyers with more financing options.
“It’s about time they joined the party,” said Cheng. “Even 100 CLIs won’t be able to cover existing demand.”
CLI chairman and chief executive officer Jose Soberano III said their knowledge of the local market has allowed them to fend off competition. “Market absorption for our newly launched developments has been remarkably swift, with several projects selling out almost immediately upon market introduction,” said Soberano. “This strong demand underscores that we’re offering well-priced, thoughtfully designed developments that truly meet the needs of our target markets,” he added.
The Garden Series, CLI’s mid market entry, remains the largest contributor to sales, accounting for 57 percent of total sales, followed by significant contributions from Mindanao, which generated 56 percent of reservation sales. Cebu represented 23 percent of the total sales. The shift toward Mindanao aligns with CLI’s strategy to expand beyond its core market in Cebu.
CLI claims 19.3 percent of the Visayas-Mindanao developer market.
The listed property developer is also looking at launching projects in Luzon, particularly horizontal residential development in Cavite and a mid-rise condominium in Metro Manila, which will be launched in 2026.
This year, CLI will launch two more projects, The North Grove at Pristina Town in Cebu, a two-tower upper mid-market development with over 1,000 units, and the first three towers of Manresa Town in Cagayan de Oro, which will be CLI’s second township development.
In addition to its residential sector, CLI’s hospitality revenues saw a 52 percent increase year-on-year, reaching P149 million. This growth was driven by the opening of three new properties—Citadines Bacolod City, lyf Cebu City, and The Pad Co-Living—which added a total of 617 rooms to CLI’s hospitality portfolio. The expansion of the hospitality segment supports CLI’s ongoing diversification efforts and responds to the rising demand for quality accommodations in Visayas and Mindanao.
Leasing revenue also showed a strong performance, climbing 47 percent to P144 million, supported by the addition of 9,219 square meters of new leasable space. High-profile tenants such as Dean & Deluca and Seattle’s Best have chosen CLI properties for their flagship branches, further enhancing the company’s leasing business. With 32,196 square meters of leasable space in the immediate pipeline, including the Astra Center Lifestyle Mall in Cebu, CLI is well-positioned to generate steady rental income from strategically located, high-traffic properties.
The recent equity-raising exercise, through the issuance of P4.28 billion of preferred shares, has allowed Cebu Landmasters to reduce debt, with net debt-to-equity ratio now at 1.44 times this year from 1.79 times last year. Internally-generated cash from new projects should further improve that ratio.
At the end of September, CLI had total future collectibles of P84.6 billion against total debt of P49 billion. Delinquency rate—the number of buyers who can make payments–now stand at 2.58 percent while cancellation rate is at 4.31 percent. Sales recovery, however, is 97 percent.
Reservation sales, meantime, stood at P18.59 billion at the end of September, approaching the P20.56 billion total for the whole of 2023 and better than the P18.1 billion posted in 2022.
