DMCI Homes, SMPC seen to do well in 2023

SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) is expected in 2023 to match this year’s performance while DMCI Homes, Inc. is seen to surpass its 2022 showing, top officials of the Consunji-led companies said.

“I think Semirara would do okay for 2023,” Isidro A. Consunji, chief executive officer of SMPC and chairman of DMCI Homes, told reporters last week. “I think it will be the same [but with a] different mix. I think power will contribute more because of the supply and demand issue.”

According to Mr. Consunji, if coal prices drop next year, it will be compensated by the company’s power business. SMPC is a listed company that has integrated its business as a coal supplier or producer into its power generation segment.

Meanwhile, DMCI Homes President Alfredo R. Austria said that he expects the company to record higher sales and reservations next year.

“For homes, [it will be] higher than this year. [For] this year, we targeted P27 billion, for next year, P35 billion,” Mr. Austria said.

DMCI Homes already reached its 2022 target and is about to close the year with P32 billion in sales and reservations.

“Our selling price is way below market,” Mr. Consunji said, adding that DMCI Homes’ value-for-money positioning “is still very strong.”

DMCI Homes is planning to build a high-rise residential project in Pasay City. The project will house 900 units and will be one of the lowest-tier housing projects of the company.

Units in the project will be sold at around P2.4 million to P2.5 million, each with around 18 square meters of floor area. The project is targeting the low to lower-middle-class market, which is a new market for DMCI Homes.

Mr. Austria said that due to the slowing down of the economy, the middle market became limited, prompting the company to look for other markets.

He added that DMCI Homes already secured the land and the schematics for the project, and is just waiting for the permits.

According to Mr. Consunji, DMCI Homes has products that cater to those with high-paying jobs. With its Pasay project, the company is targeting those with lower-paying jobs such as small entrepreneurs.

The project is said to provide amenities that are present in the company’s other projects but smaller in size. — Justine Irish D. Tabile