Landco to develop more first home projects in Metro

Landco Pacific Corp. is looking to develop more first home projects in Metro Manila, as it seeks to make the National Capital Region the biggest contributor to its bottomline. Francis Ceballos, Landco executive vice president, told reporters on Friday that Landco is hoping that first home projects in Metro Manila will be able to contribute 50 percent of the company's sales. “Included in our five-year plan is to get into the major league here in Metro Manila. We want a bite of first home market. Presently, half of our buyers are those who are looking for second homes, which also come from Metro Manila," Ceballos said. Presently, Landco's leisure projects are its biggest sales contributor, accounting for half of the company's revenues. Landco's first project in Metro Manila is the Tribeca, a cluster of condo projects along Sucat interchange. Ceballos added that the company is projecting to earn more than P200 million in net income for this year. For the first half, Landco’s bottomline grew to P109 million. In 2006, the company had a restated net loss of P12 million. Ceballos also admitted that while the company is bullish on its prospects for the year’s second-half, there are also “red flags" that could hamper its growth. “If indeed the subprime concerns in the US turns into a full-blown credit squeeze, we are expecting the interest rates in the US to be raised which will affect interest rates here," Ceballos said. Some 60 percent of Landco’s sales come from overseas Filipino, and 40 percent of that total number are from Filipinos in the US. Another area is the lack of infrastructure in the Philippines, limiting the areas of growth that the company could tap into. Although Ceballos said the company is always looking for new capital to raise for its developments, he added that any plans for initial public offering have yet to be finalized. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV