Emperador, Megaworld pursue market expansion (Sabong News)

Emperador Inc. is raising its capital expenditure budget to expand its overseas whisky business while sister company Megaworld Corporation is expanding its reach in the domestic front. During the Emperador’s annual stockholders’ meeting, is was disclosed that the firm increasing its capital expenditure budget by 72 percent this year to P3.0 billion from P1.74 billion in 2021. Emperador President Winston Co said the firm will further expand its global footprint in various international markets and that the “bulk of which will be on the whisky business.” “We operate in an ever-changing, dynamic and highly competitive industry. Strategic investments are key to ensuring that as a global company, we can adapt to evolving consumer preferences and demands. Not only this, but we are also able to deepen and stengthen our premiumization and internationalization efforts,” he noted. Meanwhile, Megaworld Chief Strategy Officer Kevin L. Tan said “We are now looking at opportunities to further expand our geographical footprint in the country this year with the launch of several new townships.” He noted that they now focused on returning to the company’s pre-pandemic performance after reporting higher earnings for the first quarter of the year. Megaworld posted a 41 percent growth in its net income to P3.5 billion for the first quarter of 2022 from P2.5 billion during the same period last year as the business environment continued to improve. Attributable net income increased by 30 percent year-on-year to P3.1 billion in 2022 compared to last year’s P2.4 billion. Consolidated revenues rose 29 percent to P13.1 billion from the P10.2 billion registered in the previous year as the company’s business segments posted double digit improvements. “This is definitely a strong start for us, and affirms that our improved performance can be sustained. While there was some concern last January due to the omicron variant, consumer confidence remained on the uptrend and our quick recovery showed that we are now in a better position to manage the pandemic and move forward,” said Tan. Real estate sales for the quarter grew by 36 percent year-on-year to P8.1 billion as construction activities normalized. Reservation sales also increased by 12 percent to P23.2 billion compared to P20.7 billion reported a year ago. Megaworld Premier Offices posted P3.0 billion in rental income for the first three months of the year, up by 16 percent as compared to P2.6 billion it netted for the same period last year. The company’s occupancy rate improved to 91 percent even as the industry average remained at the 82 to 83 percent level. Megaworld Lifestyle Malls grew its rental income by 40 percent year-on-year to P717.1 million on the back of improving foot traffic and the increase in retail locators that have restarted their operations. Likewise, Megaworld Hotels & Resorts posted a 50 percent growth in revenues to P502.9 million, as it benefitted from the uptick in leisure-related activities and expansion in domestic travel.