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Richmond Mercurio - The Philippine Star
February 17, 2025 | 12:00am
Sta. Lucia Land president Exequiel Robles said the company plans to unveil this year more than 20 projects across the country, most of which are horizontal developments.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — Listed real estate developer Sta. Lucia Land Inc. is gearing up for another banner year as it prepares to launch a slew of residential projects as well as its second mall this 2025.
Sta. Lucia Land president Exequiel Robles said the company plans to unveil this year more than 20 projects across the country, most of which are horizontal developments.
“We have actually secured properties in various areas nationwide like Batangas, Bacolod, Iloilo and in Mindanao. So we are already planning these projects and preparing them for launching,“ he said.
Robles said that the company also intends to launch new hotel projects in Baguio this year.
Sta. Lucia earlier said that it is allocating P3 billion to P5 billion for capital expenditures this year for land acquisitions and continued development of sustainable neighborhoods.
Robles said the company will also be expanding its leasing business with the opening of its new mall in Davao this year.
Sta. Lucia Davao Mall will have a gross floor area of 40,918 square meters and gross leasable area of 24,143 square meters.
Sta. Lucia Davao Mall’s projected gross annual leasing income, given a conservative 90 percent occupancy rate, is from P100 million to P140 million.
“The mall is already finished. We are just working on some additional requirements,” Robles said.
The new mall will be the second shopping center in the company’s portfolio after its flagship Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall in Cainta, Rizal.
Robles said that other areas with potential for future mall development include Iloilo and General Santos.
As of end-2024, Sta. Lucia has a total of 313 projects, spanning 12,000 hectares in 70 cities and municipalities.
Its projects include resort-themed developments, lake and golf communities, lots, townhouses, retail and office spaces as well as condotels.
Sta. Lucia chief finance officer David dela Cruz said that the company likely performed better last year than it did in 2023, finishing 2024 with record-high earnings.
“We’re always projecting growth. But 2025 because interest rates didn’t go down and then all of this talk about property slowdown, so it affects the industry, but not us directly,” he said.
Dela Cruz said that the company has no fundraising plans in the near future, except for refinancing potentially in the fourth quarter.
“Because money still expensive, right? So everybody was hoping the rates will go down, but it did not. So we’re just concentrating on developing. But since we do have earnings, we just use those internally generated funds to fund our projects,” he said.
