AYALA Land Inc. is accelerating the buildout of its leasing portfolio, with management outlining an aggressive pipeline of new mall and office space projects that will reinforce recurring income as a core earnings driver.
In an interview last week, President and CEO Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy said the company’s capital spending was increasingly being directed toward leasing assets under a long-term transition plan.
“I think what we’re doing is we’re prioritizing the leasing [business] in our capital expenses. It’s really a multiyear plan,” Dy said, noting that repositioning a company of Ayala Land’s scale will take time and careful execution.
The company is set to deliver about 270,000 square meters of new leasing space this year alone, including roughly 200,000 square meters of malls and 70,000 square meters of offices, marking one of its largest annual expansions to date.
Dy said the rollout would continue steadily over the next three to five years, forming part of a broader plan to add more than one million square meters of leasing gross floor area over a five-year horizon.
“You can expect to see openings, continuous openings of malls and offices in the next three to five years,” she said.
All of the planned developments are located within Ayala Land’s existing estates, allowing the company to move projects forward without the need to secure new sites.
While current targets remain intact, Dy said the pace of expansion could still be increased depending on market conditions.
Alongside new capacity, Ayala Land is also sustaining upgrades across its commercial assets. Renovations of flagship malls were said to be nearing completion this year, after which the company will focus on enhancing the rest of its network of more than 30 malls.
“Upgrades are an ongoing thing,” Dy said, pointing out that only four of its properties are considered flagship malls, leaving a significant portion of the portfolio undergoing improvements.
Ayala Land highlighted the strength of its financial position in support of its leasing business push.
The company earlier reported a net debt-to-equity ratio of about 0.8 times and interest coverage of over four times, with total debt of around P300 billion backed by a roughly P1-trillion asset base as of end-2025.
Chief Finance Officer and Treasurer Jed Quimpo said the company continued to actively recycle capital to fund growth while maintaining balance sheet flexibility.
“Capital recycling has become one of our key levers... we continuously unlock value while retaining exposure to quality income streams,” Quimpo said, adding that they regularly reviewed assets for reinvestment into higher-return opportunities.
The expansion of leasing assets is expected to support a more stable earnings mix, complementing Ayala Land’s residential business, bolstered by disciplined launches and sustained demand in key estates.
The company is targeting the delivery of about 13,000 residential units this year, including roughly P124 billion worth of turnovers in the premium segment.
As Ayala Land builds out its leasing footprint, management is positioning the business to generate more predictable cash flows while maintaining the flexibility to adjust the pace of investments in response to shifting market conditions.
The company’s shares on Friday dropped P0.54, or 3.30 percent, to close at P15.80 each.