Ayala Land 9-month net income up 15% at P3.12B

Property developer Ayala Land Inc. on Tuesday reported that its net income increased 15 percent to P3.12 billion in the first nine months of 2007 from the P2.946 billion recorded in the same period last year. In a statement, Ayala Land said revenues fell 3 percent to P18.228 billion. "Higher net income was also driven by a reduction in the company's effective tax rate to 23 percent in the nine months of 2007, from 32 percent in the comparable period period last year due to the lower tax rate applied to the gain on the sale of shares of Makati Property Ventures Inc., our investment vehicle for Oakwood Ayala Center," Ayala Land said. ''Despite concerns early in the third quarter about an overspill of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, the company's residential projects continued to experience steady takeup across all brands,'' the company added. - GMANews.TV