AYALA Land Inc. is sharpening its focus on recurring income and estate-led growth as it navigates global geopolitical risks and a more cautious domestic property market, top executives said, with management signaling a clear pivot toward stability over aggressive expansion.
At the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting (ASM) on Thursday, Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said that periods of uncertainty “test not only strategies and plans, but also our purpose and resilience.”
“For Ayala Land, that purpose has always been clear — to create places and experiences that enrich lives, strengthen communities and contribute meaningfully to the nation,” he added.
He reported that Ayala Land generated over P190 billion in revenues and P39 billion in net income in 2025 while returning P18.5 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, up 25 percent year-on-year.
Zobel de Ayala added that they were deliberately prioritizing stability as a response to geopolitical tensions, shifting trade patterns and softer domestic sentiment.
“In times like these, our top priority is stability over aggressive growth,” he said.
“We will manage our residential launches and reduce our inventory. We have also downscaled our capex plans as part of balance sheet management,” he added.
Zobel de Ayala acknowledged that geopolitical risks, including tensions in the Middle East, were weighing on sentiment in the property sector.
As a response to this, he said the company was preserving liquidity, managing capital expenditures and strengthening recurring income streams to maintain flexibility amid uncertainty.
“We want to preserve our flexibility so that we have the resources available when this crisis ends or when new opportunities arise,” he said.
Ayala Land President and CEO Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy, meanwhile, said 2025 was a “defining year” for the company with core net income having risen eight percent to P30.6 billion.
“These results were anchored by the strength of estates, our recurring income platform and our disciplined capital strategy,” she said, noting that the company had operated in a more measured environment marked by cautious buyers and elevated supply in Metro Manila.
Property development contributed P113.9 billion, the leasing business added P48.7 billion and services chipped in another P11.8 billion, with management signaling a gradual shift toward a more balanced revenue mix between leasing and development by 2027.
A key theme highlighted during the stockholders' meeting was the continued expansion of Ayala Land’s leasing and hospitality businesses, which management said were becoming central to strengthening earnings stability.
Mariana Beatriz Zobel de Ayala, senior vice president, said malls were being repositioned as “social infrastructure,” with retail assets evolving into shared spaces for communities.
“Our malls continue to evolve beyond retail into social infrastructure, shared spaces where people gather, connect and spend time,” she said, noting that there was a five percent revenue growth in malls and a 91 percent lease-out rate even amid ongoing reinvention works.
The company also cited continued expansion in office leasing, supported by strong multinational demand, as well as hospitality upgrades that were expected to deliver higher yields as demand stabilizes.
Ayala Land shares on Thursday slipped P0.14, or 0.85 percent, to close at P16.34 each. NAZYLEN JOY MABANGLO
