BMCs-Best Execs-r2:AMM grid in qxp 12/24/09 9:42 AM Page 56
AWARDS
“Ithasn’tdeterredMetrobankanditgivesthemalaunchingpadfor Aquinobelievesthatbychangingthecompany’sstrategytofocusmore
loangrowthnextyear.Thesharepricehasdonewellalsobecause ontheaffordablehousingsectoraswellasshoppingmallsandofficeleas-
investorsrealisethiscompanyisforreal.” ing,AyalaLandcanachieve15%returnonequity(ROE)forthecompany
infiveyears’time.
IndustryobserversalsoseemconfidentthatAquinocandeliver.Ayala
LARGE-CAPCORPORATEOFTHEYEAR Land’scurrentROEstandsataround9%.
AyalaLand “AquinoisimplementingstrategiesthatAyalaLandshouldhavedone
alotearlier,”saidGilbertLopez,headofPhilippinesresearchatCredit
Suisse.“Thetargetsshouldworkout,andwiththeirexistinglandbankit
IthasbeenadifficultyearforthePhilippines’realestatemarket,butthat givesmeconfidencethattheywillbeverysuccessfulinthecomingyears.”
hasnotstoppedAyalaLandfromimpressingobservers.
ThecompanyhastakenastrategicchangeofdirectionsinceTony
AquinomovedfromManilaWatertobecomeitspresidentinMarch. SINGAPORE
HavingoverseenatransformationattheFilipinowaterprovider,Aquino
hasmadehismarkathisoldstompingground,wherehehadformerly SMALL-CAPCORPORATEOFTHEYEAR
beenaseniorvice-president. FraserCentrepointTrust
Previouslythepropertyfirmhasbeenreluctanttoexpandintothe
low-costhousingmarket,butthisyearithasfocusedonaffordableprop-
erty.Itisamovethatmakessense,asthebulkofthecountry’srealestate Forthesecondyearrunning, Asiamoney’sbest-managedsmall-capin
demandliesinthissegmentandthehigh-endpropertymarketlookslike- Singaporeisarealestateinvestmenttrust(Reit).FraserCentrepointTrust
lytostruggleforsometime. hasimpressedforitsresilienceinthedownturn.
Whilerevenuesatitshigh-endAyalaLandPremierbusinesscontinued TheReit,whichownsthreesuburbanmalls,isinadefensivesectorby
todeclineinthethirdquarter,salesatmiddle-incomebrandAlveoLand nature.Butittookitonestepfurtherbyensuringastableoccupancyrate
andaffordablesegmentbrandAvidaLandpostedsubstantialgrowth. of97.3%.Itisalsothinkingaheadofacquisitionsthatwillenhanceits
Overall,thecompany’sprofitsinthefirstninemonthsslumped62%. portfolio.
Buttheyhaveimprovedwitheveryquarterandanalystsarebullishabout Ithasbeenprofitablethisyear.Inthefourthquarter,whichendedon
AyalaLand’sprospectsfornextyear,whenstrategiesputinplacethisyear September30,itsnetpropertyincomeincreased25%toS$17.6million
starttotakeeffect. (US$12.7million).Financialyear2009netpropertyincomecameto
AyalaLandhasalsobeenbusydiversifying,resultinginanincreasein S$59.9million.Itisalsoshareholderfriendlyandhasincreaseditsdistri-
revenuesfromitsshoppingmallsandtheleasingofofficespacetobusi- butionperunitinfinancialyear2009forthethirdyearrunningby3%to
nesses.Thefirmisalsoattemptingtoexpandaroundthecountryandhas S$0.075perunit
acquired29.1hectaresoflandinQuezonCitytodevelopitscentralbusi- Theoutlookispositive,givenitshighoccupancyrateandannualstep-
nessdistrict. upsinrental.“Intheupturngoingforward,we’reexpectinganincreasing
“I’vebeenimpressedwithAyalaLandbecausetheyhavebeenpretty populationinSingaporeandincreasedvisitorarrivals,andthesemalls
aggressiveinexpandinganddiversifyingtheirbusinessthisyear,”said standtobenefit,”saysonebuy-sideanalyst.
oneheadofPhilippinesresearch. Alleyesarenowonhowitcangrowfurther.Inthenearfutureitis
“TheyhaveenteredintonewsegmentsandAquinohassetsome expectedtoacquiretwopropertiesfromitsparentcompany,whichana-
aggressivebutachievabletargets.Bymid-2010weshouldstartseeinga lystssayoffergoodvalue.
positiveimpactfromtheplansimplementedthisyear.” “Weliketheideaofthetwoacquisitionsbecauseitwilladdsomescale
totheportfolio,”saysoneanalyst.“TheReitcouldgrowtoasizewhere
institutionalinvestorinterestcouldpickup.”
BESTEXECUTIVE Analystsalsolikethatitsgearinglevelsaresensible,at29.9%.“We
TonyAquino,president,AyalaLand thinkit’sinasweetspot.Infact,mostotherReitmanagersnowsaythey’re
lookingatatarget30%to35%gearing,soFCTisdefinitelyattheright
place.”
TonyAquinohasbeenwiththeAyalaGroupinvariouspositionsfor28
years,andisincreasinglybecomingthego-tomanwhenitcomestotrou-
blesomesubsidiaries. MEDIUM-CAPCORPORATEOFTHEYEAR
HewasthepresidentofManilaWater,anotherAyalaGroupsub- Hyflux
sidiary.Duringhistimetherethenumberofpeoplereceiving24-hour
waterfromthecompanyincreasedfromlessthanonemillionin1997to
overfivemillionin2009.Thecompany’sstockpricesincreased10times Ahigh-net-worthindividualrecentlytoldAsiamoney:“Hyfluxisonestock
duringthesameperiod. thatIwouldwanttobuyandkeepformychildren.”
AquinowasthenappointedAyalaLandpresidentinMarch,atatime Thisisavoteofconfidenceinthewater-treatmentcompany’slong-
whenthepropertycompanywasseeingitsprofitabilitywaneinthewake termpotential,andthereareafewreasonswhy.Hyfluxhasawell-articu-
ofglobalfinancialcrisis.Hewastednotime,implementingaseriesof latedvisionforthefuture,aprovenabilitytoexecuteandstrongman-
strategicchangestonavigateitbacktowardsgrowth. agers.
WhileAyalaLand’syear-on-yearprofitslumpedamidamoribund Inits20-yearhistory,thecompanyhasexpandedintoChina,the
economy,netincomehassteadilybeenonanupwardtrendeveryquarter MiddleEastandIndiasuccessfully.Butitwillnotstopthere.
andobserversholdhighhopesthatAquino’sstrategieswillhelpAyala RecentlyitannouncedaS$120millionexpansionplaninSingapore
Landtopostpositiveresultsbythemiddleof2010. andalsoinkedapartnershipwithJapan’sJGCCorp.Plusitexpectsa20%
“He’sonlybeeninthejobeightmonthsbuthe’simplementedalotof riseinannualsalesandprofitsoverthenextfiveyears.
strategiesalreadyandmappedoutthecompany’splansforthenextfew Oneofitsdefiningtraitsisitsabilitytopenetratenewmarketstogen-
years,”saidJodySantiago,headofPhilippinesresearchatUBSinManila. eratenewsourcesofrevenue.ItalsowonaS$95millioncontractto
“Ifhehadn’tdonethatAyalaLandwouldnothavehadthechanceto designandsupplyadesalinationfacilityinOman,whichwillfurtherits
grow.He’smadethecompanymoreeffectiveandsensitivetothemarket.” reachintheMiddleEast.
56 DEC2009/JAN2010 ASIAMONEY
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