Cebu-based developer gears up for Luzon expansion

Cebu City (CNN Philippines, June 2) — A Cebu-based property developer is gearing up to enter Luzon in 2024 following its success in the Visayas and Mindanao.

During its annual stockholders meeting on Thursday, Cebu Landmaster Incorporated (CLI) announced that the first of its Luzon projects would include affordable housing units in Naga City in Camarines Sur and other areas around the province amid a positive outlook in the real estate industry after the COVID-19 pandemic.

CLI Chairman and CEO Jose Soberano III said the company would capitalize on its expertise in building quality and affordable vertical village developments such as its Casa Mira brand.

He said they would first bring their economic housing brand to Luzon, as this has always been in demand.

In 2022, CLI hit an all-time high normalized net income of ₱3.17 billion — up 32% from the previous year. It recorded earnings growth across all revenue sources, allowing CLI to increase its capital spending by 13%, mainly for property development and land acquisition.

CLI added that it is currently negotiating land acquisitions mostly in the southern part of Luzon to pursue possible joint venture deals which are targeted to begin by 2024.

"We have offers on the table about good tracks of land and I was wondering why you gave this up to me and why not on the big guys there (in Luzon)? That to me is a pretty good feeling," Soberano said in a press briefing.

However, CLI has not yet revealed how much its Luzon projects would cost.

The developer also announced funding of ₱29.75 billion for at least 19 projects in the pipeline set for the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

In the first quarter of 2023, the company posted a 33% consolidated revenue growth of ₱4.78 billion — higher than the P3.58 billion in the first quarter of 2022.