By James A. Loyola Gotianun family-led Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC) reported a 19 percent growth in attributable net income to P6.1 billion for the first half of 2019. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said the strong performance for the semester was driven by revenue growth of 14 percent, largely composed of contribution from its core businesses in property and banking together with its power and sugar businesses. FDC believes that property, composed of the real estate and hospitality segments, continues to be a solid source of growth for the group, contributing more than half of FDC’s bottom line. Meanwhile, FDC’s banking and financial services subsidiary, East West Banking Corporation (EastWest Bank), delivered net income of P2.7 billion in the first half of 2019, 33 percent higher than the same period last year. Power subsidiary, FDC Utilities, Inc. (FDCUI), posted net income growth of 87 percent to P1.4 billion. “We are pleased with the results of our various business lines, with notable improvements resulting from the ramp up of our leasing, hotel and power businesses,” said FDC President and CEO L. Josephine G. Yap. She added that, “we are positive that the trajectory is sustainable in the second half of the year as demand for our products and services across the different business lines continue to be strong.” Rental revenues from FDC’s listed subsidiary, Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI), as well as Filinvest Alabang, Inc. (FAI) grew by 31 percent to P3.7 billion off the back of the completion of six office buildings in 2018, adding a total of 118,000 square meters of gross leasable area (GLA) to its portfolio. Hotel operations achieved a revenue growth of 24 percent to P1.6 billion that also contributed to the improved performance of the property business, boosted by the opening of Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay in November 2018 and Quest Tagaytay in April 2019. FDC’s subsidiary, Filinvest Hospitality Corporation (FHC), currently has a portfolio of six managed properties with approximately 1,800 rooms under the Crimson and Quest brands.