ALI lifts capex to about P60 billion

AYALA LAND, Inc. (ALI) has revised its 2026 capital expenditure (capex) budget upward to about P60 billion from P50 billion as it seeks to complete projects scheduled for this year.

The property developer cut its capex budget to P50 billion in May after first-quarter profit declined. In February, it announced a spending plan of P70 billion to P80 billion.

At a media briefing on Monday, ALI President and Chief Executive Officer Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy said the company had decided to increase the budget.

“We’re confident to bring it back up to about P60 billion,” she said.

Ms. Bautista-Dy said the revision was tied to projects ALI plans to complete this year.

“We want to finish all the projects that we have laid out for this year. We felt that because these are such high-conviction projects for us and that they were all very strategic, we decided to increase the capex in order for us to deliver on this. Both on the leasing side and on the residential side,” she said.

ALI is targeting the delivery of 13,000 residential units and 200,000 square meters (sq.m.) of mall space this year.

Ms. Bautista-Dy said the company had delivered 6,000 residential units in the first half.

“We’ve delivered 6,000 in the first half — so these are buyer commitments. We’re on track,” she said.

The company also plans to deliver 100,000 sq.m. of mall space in 2027.

ALI plans to launch about P5 billion worth of residential projects in the second half, primarily horizontal developments.

“We do have a launch pipeline for the second half. We’re looking at launching around P5 billion, primarily horizontal,” ALI Chief Commercial Officer Mike Jugo said.

The company said residential sales for the first half stood at about P53 billion despite limited launches.

Ms. Bautista-Dy said unsold residential inventory had declined to about 15 months, equivalent to roughly P110 billion worth of units, from 18 months earlier in the year.

“We’re now 15 months, which is practically our pre-pandemic levels,” she noted.

ALI said its long-term strategy includes building its recurring-income portfolio to balance the cyclical nature of property development.

Mariana Beatriz E. Zobel de Ayala, ALI group head for leasing and hospitality, said the company considers transport and accessibility in planning each mall development.

She cited Trinoma’s connections to Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2), Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), and the future Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7), as well as Ayala Malls Manila Bay’s direct links to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), as examples of transit-oriented development.

The company’s pipeline includes Ayala Gatewalk in Cebu, with an office component scheduled to open in December 2026.

Still, Ms. Bautista-Dy said the economic environment remains uncertain.

“I mean, the war hasn’t ended. GDP (gross domestic product) [growth], actually, for the second quarter is even slower than the first quarter. So, we realized that this is going to continue to be a challenging second quarter,” she said. 

She also said the company expects its second-half performance to be broadly in line with the first half.

ALI’s net income fell 19% to P11.5 billion in the first half from P14.2 billion a year earlier, while revenue declined 9.75% to P75 billion from P83.1 billion.

For the second quarter, net income stood at P6.1 billion, while revenue reached P37.5 billion.

ALI’s capex totaled P39.5 billion in the first half, down 2% from a year earlier.

AYALALAND LOGISTICS
Meanwhile, AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp. (ALLHC) said in a statement on Tuesday that consolidated revenue reached P1.6 billion in the first half of 2026, while net income stood at P11 million, as higher leasing revenue partly offset lower industrial lot sales.

Revenue from industrial lot sales fell 44% to P489 million during the six-month period.

Sales reservations at ALLHC’s Technopark developments, however, rose 11% to P791 million. The company said the reservations will be recognized as revenue as customers meet payment milestones.

Leasing revenue increased 13% to P1.1 billion, driven by higher revenue from warehouse and cold storage facilities.

Warehouse leasing revenue rose 9% to P391 million, while cold storage revenue nearly doubled to P243 million, up 99% from a year earlier. ALLHC attributed the increase in cold storage revenue to higher utilization across most of its facilities.

Commercial leasing revenue, meanwhile, fell 6% to P438 million amid softer occupancy during the period.

At the local bourse on Tuesday, ALI shares rose 0.63% to P16.10 each, while ALLHC shares closed unchanged at P1.21 each. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno and Juliana Chloe A. Gonzales