Starmalls Inc., the commercial arm of developer Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., said net income jumped 71 percent in 2016 to P1.55 billion from P900 million in 2015, on double-digit growth in revenues.
Starmalls said in a disclosure to the stock exchange rental revenues climbed 61 percent to P4.5 billion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization increased 77 percent to P3.3 billion.
“We remain optimistic about the retail industry’s outlook for 2017, as we continue to see continued growth in the disposable income of Filipinos, the rising middle class in the country, and sound Philippine macroeconomic fundamentals,” said Starmalls chairman Manuel Villar Jr.
“In addition, we are taking advantage of the synergies that we found as a result of our integration with Vista Land,” Villar said.
Consolidated assets hit P35.8 billion as of end-2016, up from P31.8 billion in 2015. Starmalls has 17 commercial assets in its portfolio and continues to expand its leasable space.
Starmalls president Jerry Navarrete said the company was ramping up its expansion program and would deliver additional leasable space in the coming years as it continued the development of 46.9 hectares of commercial landbank.
Vista Land has over 600 hectares of land across the country that are suitable for commercial development.
“The company’s strong growth rate was sustained as the additional commercial assets opened during the year are already contributing to our financial performance, in addition to the increased rental revenues from our existing malls brought about by higher rental reversions and increased occupancy,” Navarette said.
Starmalls is a major developer, owner and operator of retail malls that target mass consumers in the Philippines and is an early mover in the market segment, focusing on densely populated areas underserved by similar retail malls and within close proximity to transport hubs and key infrastructure. It also develops and operates business process outsourcing commercial centers.