FASTER SPENDING. Ayala Land chief finance officer Augusto Bengzon (left) and president and chief executive officer Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy in a press briefing in Makati City on Wednesday (Aug. 7, 2024). The company sees faster spending of its PHP100-billion 2024 budget in the second half of the year. (PNA photo by Kris M. Crismundo)
MANILA — Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) will accelerate its spending in the second half of the year, supporting the recovery of private construction.
During ALI’s analyst briefing for the second quarter of 2024 in Makati City on Wednesday, its chief finance officer Augusto Bengzon said the company already spent PHP36.5 billion in capital expenditure (capex) for the first half of the year.
Bulk of the capital spent is in residential projects amounting to PHP18.4 billion, followed by estate development amounting to PHP9.8 billion, land acquisition at PHP4.2 billion, offices at PHP1.9 billion, malls at PHP1.8 billion, hotels and resorts at PHP200 million, and other projects also amounting to PHP200 million.
“The expectation is we'll be spending a little bit faster in the second semester so our guidance, our capex guidance of PHP100 billion is still intact. So a little slow off the blocks in terms of spending, which is probably a good thing, but the project teams reassure me they're going to be spending what they budgeted for in this last semester of the year. So the guidance for $100 billion is still on,” Bengzon said.
Last month, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said private construction has yet to recover to pre-pandemic level.
On the other hand, Balisacan said the current construction activities of the private sector is “not that too far” from the 2019 level.
The NEDA chief also anticipates that private construction will fully recover next year.
This is also true for ALI as its capex is nearing its pre-Covid-19 spending of around PHP108 billion, Bengzon said.
“In terms of capex, we’re almost there. It should be PHP100 billion this year,” he added.
For first half of 2024, ALI’s revenues increased by 28 percent to PHP84.3 billion from the same period in the previous year.
Net income also grew by 15 percent to PHP13.1 billion in the same comparable period.
“Ayala Land is hitting its growth targets across all business lines and market segments. Residential sales outperformed expectations. We will continue to pursue our growth trajectory with a keen eye on capital efficiency,” ALI president and chief executive officer Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy said.
“We are reinventing our assets to deliver elevated and differentiated experiences to our customers, and we will continue to bring compelling and market-shaping residential offerings to Filipino homeowners,” she added. (PNA)
