ALI ignores crisis, eyes projects

Posted on July 7, 2008

DESPITE what it sees as challenging times for the property sector, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) continues to be in an investment mode with 100 projects now ongoing.

In an interview, Jaime Ayala, ALI president, said ALI is not only pursuing its projects but is exploring other potential projects.

“We continue to look for opportunities because there are still many bright sectors out there,” he said.

Ayala, however, admitted that with the slowdown in the global economy, ALI may find it more difficult to sell its products.

“The prices have been very strong. The cost of steel has doubled and cement price is up since the beginning of the year. There will be a lot of compression on margins, but we try to work on other costs,” Ayala said.

Since last year, ALI has increased prices by 20 percent.

“But we don’t increase the price unless we can improve the product,” Ayala said. “[It doesn’t mean that] because our cost goes up, our customers should pay more,” he added.

This year, ALI allotted P24 billion for capital expenditure, 60 percent higher than the P15 billion it earmarked in 2007.

This year’s capex will support ALI’s aggressive expansion in the residential and office development segments, and support priming activities in strategic landbanks in the Makati Central Business District, Bonifacio Global City and Canlubang, Laguna.

“It’s the biggest capex so far in the history of the company. This is a clear indication of how upbeat we are in the real-estate sector even with the global developments in the financial market,” Ayala.

The capex will be funded through a combination of internally-generated cash and borrowings. Business Mirror

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