Property giant Megaworld, the Philippines’ biggest developer of integrated urban townships, achieved a net income of P6.69-billion during the first half of 2017, 11% higher than the P6.03-billion achieved during the same period last year.

The company’s rental income, fueled by office and commercial space leasing, drove its earnings for the period. Net income attributable to parent company’s shareholders also recorded an 11% growth to P6.44-billion in the first half of this year from P5.81-billion during the first six months of 2016.

“It has been a strong first half for Megaworld as we continue the trajectory of our rental income while maintaining revenues for our residential business. Across businesses, there is an indication that we will continue our double digit growth until the end of the year,” says Francis Canuto, senior vice president and treasurer, Megaworld.

Megaworld’s rental business, which includes offices, malls and commercial centers, remained the primary contributor to the growth in the first half earnings. Rental income soared 20% to P5.83-billion this year from P4.84 during the same period last year. Residential revenues, on the other hand, have been steady at P16.77-billion during the period.

Last year, the company broke the one-million square meter mark in total leasable spaces, from both office and commercial/retail spaces available in its various developments across the country. Office space inventory stood at 851,000 square meters while commercial and retail spaces reached 273,000 square meters.

“Megaworld remains to be the largest office developer and lessor in the country. We are well-positioned to retain this leadership as we are on-track to surpass the one-million square meter mark in office space inventory alone by the end of this year,” adds Canuto.

Megaworld has also been ramping up its hotel business, which rose 10% from P590-million during the first half of last year to P648-million in the same period this year. During the second quarter, the company launched its third homegrown hotel brand in Boracay Newcoast, the 559-room Savoy Hotel Boracay, which is known to have the country’s first-ever party pool arena.

“On the long term, we see our hotel operations to be a major contributor to our growth as we continue accelerate our hotel developments to support the country’s tourism industry. For Megaworld Group alone, we hope to complete an additional 3,500 rooms in our hotel portfolio in the next five years,” explains Canuto.

Late last year, the company introduced another concept in property development referred to as ‘integrated lifestyle community’ or ILC, which features nature as extended amenities for its expansive residential development.

“With the launch of Eastland Heights, our first integrated lifestyle community, expect this concept to go farther as we plan to launch more of this type of development in the coming months,” Canuto adds.

Megaworld currently has a roster of 22 integrated urban townships and integrated lifestyle communities across the Philippines, namely: Eastwood City in Quezon City, (18 hectares); Newport City in Pasay City (25 hectares); McKinley Hill (50 hectares), McKinley West (34.5 hectares), Uptown Bonifacio (15.4 hectares) and Forbes Town (5 hectares), all in Fort Bonifacio; The Mactan Newtown in Cebu (30 hectares); Iloilo Business Park (72 hectares) and Sta. Barbara Heights (173 hectares), both in Iloilo; Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island (150 hectares); Twin Lakes in Tagaytay (1,200 hectares); ArcoVia City in Pasig City (12.3 hectares); Southwoods City in the boundaries of Cavite and Laguna (561 hectares); Davao Park District in Lanang, Davao City (11 hectares); Alabang West in Las Piñas City (62 hectares); Suntrust Ecotown (350 hectares) and Maple Grove (140 hectares) both in Cavite; The Upper East (34 hectares) in Bacolod City; Northill Gateway (53 hectares) in Bacolod-Talisay, Negros Occidental; Capital Town in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga (35.6-hectares); Westside City in Paranaque City (31 hectares); and Eastland Heights in Antipolo, Rizal (640 hectares.)