The Lopez Group is spending P6 billion to redevelop the one-hectare site of former Benpres Building in Ortigas Center into a two-tower office project to boost recurring income.
First Philippine Holdings Corp. president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said in an interview at the sidelines of the annual stockholders’ meeting the company planned to build two office structures within the Benpres property that would serve as permanent headquarters for the Lopez Group and provide office space for lease.
“It will have two buildings and our estimate capital expenditures is P6 billion,” Puno said.
Puno said FPH would undertake the Benpres redevelopment in a bid to boost recurring income. The holding company may team up with real estate unit Rockwell Land Corp. to help in the redevelopment of the property, he said.
“Our plan is to firm up design this year and then we will tear down the existing building and start construction hopefully by 2018,” Puno said.
The whole development is slated for completion by 2021.
The offices of FPH group early this month transferred to Rockwell Business Center in Ortigas from Benpres to pave the way for the redevelopment of the property.
Benpres previously housed major Lopez-owned companies such as Lopez Inc., FPHC and First Gen Corp.
FPH, which has investments in power generation, manufacturing and property businesses, focused on boosting recurring net income, which is a better measurement of the company’s performance, as this eliminated one-off gains and losses.
FPH recurring net income has been on upward trajectory over the past five years, with a compounded annual growth rate of 35 percent to P5.2 billion from P1.2 billion.
“We engaged the entire organization in putting more focus on their customers’ needs and pain-points and assisted in sharpening existing business models with the goal of finding ways to make them repeatable and predictable successes,” Puno said.
“These efforts will continue throughout the following years as we aim to scale up the operations of our subsidiaries,” Puno said.
