Ayala Land posts P8.7B net income in 2020, down 74% amid pandemic

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. saw a double-digit decline in its bottom line in 2020 amid the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on its operations.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Ayala Land said it posted a net income of P8.7 billion last year, down 74% from P33.2 billion in 2019.

The property developer also recorded a 43% decline in its consolidated revenues to P96.3 billion last year from P168.8 billion in the prior year.

“There was no escaping the major disruption caused by the pandemic in 2020, but our company’s performance in the latter part of the year was encouraging and provides a baseline for our recovery plans moving forward,” said Ayala Land president and CEO Bernard Vincent Dy.

“In 2020, greater value was placed on maintaining a strong balance sheet to weather this crisis and prepare our company to resume our growth aspirations. Operating procedures were also put in place to ensure the safety of our people and our customers and initiatives were introduced to provide assistance to various stakeholders during this difficult period,” Dy said.

In particular, revenues from property development dipped to P66.5 billion for the year due to construction restrictions and lower bookings.

This, however, soared 64% to P25.8 billion in the fourth quarter from the third quarter of 2020, boosted by continuous construction progress in the company’s 174 projects across the country.

In the fourth quarter alone, Ayala Land recorded a 28% quarter-on-quarter increase in net income to P2.4 billion, while revenues jumped 49% to P33 billion.

Despite limited sales mobility, the company said it managed to book sales reservations at P81.9 billion , which is 56% of the level in 2019.

Fourth quarter sales reservations furthermore reached P21.1 billion, 58% of pre-COVID levels due to sustained property demand, it said.

Commercial leasing revenues contracted 44% to P21.9 billion in 2020 given limited mall and hotel operations, although mall revenues grew 10% to P1.7 billion in the fourth quarter from the third quarter on account of less strict community quarantine restrictions coupled with the holiday season boost.

Ayala Land’s capital expenditures reached P63.7 billion in 2020, which were allocated mainly for the completion of residential and commercial leasing assets, with a portion spent on land acquisition and development of estates.

For 2021, Ayala Land earmarked a capital expenditure budget of P88 billion, banking on optimism that the country will recover from the pandemic-induced recession last year.

The company expects that it will take at least two to three years before its businesses recover to pre-COVID-19 levels. — Ted Cordero/BM, GMA News