By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter
PROPERTY DEVELOPER Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) plans to allocate P95 billion for capital expenditures (capex) this year as it aims to launch P100 billion worth of projects.
“For 2025, we are looking at a P95-billion capex,” ALI President and Chief Executive Officer Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy said during a virtual briefing on Thursday.
Ms. Bautista-Dy said 37% of the capex will be allocated for residential projects, 25% for estate development, 23% for leasing and hospitality assets, and 15% for land acquisitions and general corporate purposes.
ALI’s capex budget this year is higher than the P84.6 billion spent in 2024, of which 46% was used for residential developments, 27% for estate development, 15% for leasing and hospitality assets, and 12% for land acquisition commitments.
Ms. Bautista-Dy said ALI aims to launch P100 billion worth of property development projects this year. “P80 billion will be for residential projects, while P20 billion will be for commercial and industrial lots.”
In 2024, ALI launched P80.5 billion worth of projects, 64% of which were located outside Metro Manila.
Ms. Bautista-Dy said ALI is also looking to open and acquire over 170,000 square meters of leasing assets across its malls, offices, and logistics businesses this year.
The expansion plans come as ALI disclosed in a regulatory filing that its board has approved raising up to P75 billion in capital this year through retail bonds, corporate notes, and bilateral term loans.
The capital-raising initiative will partially fund general corporate requirements and refinance maturing debt.
“P25 billion of the P75 billion is earmarked for refinancing. The remaining P50 billion is probably on the high side — we think we’ll be borrowing much less than that,” ALI Chief Finance Officer Augusto D. Bengzon said in the virtual briefing.
“Most likely, we’ll raise around P30 billion, with half coming from bank financing and the other half from the capital markets. P25 billion will go toward refinancing, and another P30 billion will help fund new capex,” he added.
This year, Ms. Bautista-Dy said ALI aims to grow its bottom line at twice the country’s economic growth rate.
“In 2025, we intend to grow the business at twice the gross domestic product, which we forecast to be around 12%,” she said.
ALI recorded a 15% increase in net income in 2024, reaching P28.2 billion from P24.5 billion in 2023, driven by record-high revenue.
Revenue surged by 21% to an all-time high of P180.7 billion in 2024, up from P148.9 billion the previous year.
“We ended the year on solid footing, with all our business lines executing their growth strategies,” Ms. Bautista-Dy said.
Property development revenue rose by 22% to P112.9 billion, led by higher residential and estate lot bookings. Residential revenue increased by 23% to P94.9 billion, driven by strong demand across all brands.
Revenue from commercial and industrial lots grew by 34% to P14.6 billion, reflecting increased demand outside Metro Manila.
Residential sales reservations climbed by 12% to P127.1 billion, supported by robust demand for premium developments, horizontal projects, and suburban estates.
Sales from premium brands AyalaLand Premier and Alveo rose by 25% to P80.8 billion, accounting for 64% of total sales.
Leasing and hospitality revenues increased by 9% to P45.6 billion. Shopping center and office leasing revenues grew by 9% to P23.0 billion and P12.9 billion, respectively, while hotel and resort revenues climbed by 11% to P9.7 billion.
Meanwhile, ALI is infusing P21 billion worth of properties into its real estate investment trust company, AREIT, Inc., through a property-for-share swap deal, further expanding AREIT’s portfolio.
Under the agreement, ALI and its subsidiaries — Accendo Commercial Corp., Cagayan de Oro Gateway Corp. (CDOGC), and Central Bloc Hotel Ventures, Inc. — will subscribe to 505.89 million AREIT shares in exchange for eight commercial properties valued at P20.99 billion.
As of press time, ALI and AREIT have yet to disclose specific details about the properties involved in the transaction, which was validated by a third-party opinion.
Accendo manages the Abreeza properties and other Ayala developments in Davao City, including Ayala Malls Abreeza, while CDOGC oversees the Centrio mixed-use development in Cagayan de Oro. Central Bloc operates the Seda Central Bloc Cebu hotel in Cebu City.
The deal is subject to approval by AREIT shareholders at their annual meeting on April 24.
ALI’s board also approved reducing its authorized capital stock to P20.44 billion from P21.44 billion through the retirement of 1 billion treasury shares.
On Thursday, ALI shares fell by 8.06% or P2 to P22.80 apiece, while AREIT shares declined by 1.14% or 45 centavos to P39.05 each.
