Property giant Megaworld’s rental income soared 15% in the first three quarters of the year, pulling up the company’s 9-month income. Rental income, which comes from the company’s expanded office and commercial retail portfolio, reached P7.41-billion in the first nine months of 2016 from P6.44-billion during the same period last year.

During the past months, Megaworld has opened new malls and commercial centers in its various integrated urban townships, particularly Uptown Bonifacio, McKinley Hill, Forbes Town Center, Iloilo Business Park, The Mactan Newtown, and Twin Lakes; and new office towers in McKinley West, Uptown Bonifacio, The Mactan Newtown, and Iloilo Business Park.

It also expanded its hotel portfolio with the introduction of another local hotel brand, Belmont Hotel, which launched its first hotel in Newport City late last year, in addition to its homegrown Richmonde Hotels in Eastwood City, Ortigas, and Iloilo.

The Philippines’ biggest developer of integrated urban townships and the largest lessor of office spaces, achieved a net income of P9.27-billion during the first nine months of 2016, 11% higher than P8.35-billion during the same period last year.

Consolidated revenues grew 5% during the first three quarters of 2016 on a year-on-year basis. The growth is an increase from last year’s P33.53-billion to P35.26-billion this year.

“Our fundamentals remain strong and we are happy to see that our anticipated aggressive growth in our rental businesses continues. What we are now witnessing is the transition of Megaworld from being just a builder into becoming a landlord. This means that the company will be insulated from any cyclicality from the residential business while having steady or even higher growth moving forward,“ says Francis Canuto, treasurer, Megaworld.

Earlier this year, Megaworld unveiled its 21st integrated urban township, the 140-hectare Maple Grove in General Trias, Cavite. The development’s masterplan is to have an eclectic mix of residential, office, retail, and institutional components in an environment friendly community. Another vast township is scheduled to be launched before year-end, bringing the company’s number of townships across the Philippines to 22 this year.

Megaworld’s township developments started with Eastwood City in Quezon City, (18 hectares); and was replicated onwards with Newport City in Pasay City (25 hectares); McKinley Hill (50 hectares), McKinley West (34.5 hectares), Uptown Bonifacio (15.4 hectares) and Forbes Town Center (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) and Northill Gateway (50 hectares) both in Negros Occidental; Capital Town Pampanga (35.6-hectares); and Westside City in the Entertainment City in Paranaque (31 hectares.)