Message of Empire East
President and CEO Atty. Anthony Charlemagne C. Yu, June 8, 2021
Dear Stockholders, Members of the Board, Officers of the Company, Ladies & Gentlemen, Good Day!
The Year 2020 has brought us unprecedented challenges when the COVID-19 pandemic hit almost all businesses across different industries. The real estate market, particularly the residential sector, has not been spared by the economic blow, but figures show how your Company has solidified the trust from our homebuyers in the face of the pandemic.
Performance amidst pandemic
With close to 9% growth in booked sales compared to the previous year, our performance for the year still indicates the resiliency of Empire East and its stakeholders amid these troubled times.
This result was due to an extensive transmutation program that we have implemented, enabling your Company to perform productively in the new normal and effectively position its residential developments as an essential and valuable product both for end-users and investors.
The breakthrough lifestyle concepts we pioneered, such as the “live-work-play township model”, loft-type homes, micro-cities, transit-oriented developments, urban resorts, as well as our zero down payment schemes, were bold moves as responses to several crises and setbacks. We have always been adaptive, sustainable, and resilient through the years. One of the major hallmarks of your Company for these past 27 years is our ability to come out of every crisis much stronger than before. Your Company remains on track with our goals through proactive measures that follow our future-proof roadmap.
Challenges and actions
Prolonged regional lockdowns, travel restrictions, reduced OFW remittance inflows, and lower business consumer confidence are the key factors that caused unsettling fear to the real estate market. Remittances from OFWs diminished in 2020 compared to the previous year. Further, our economy suffered from a contraction in 2020, while we observed some spikes in the inflation rate.
As we faced uncertainties throughout the year, one of our immediate responses was to leverage our digital assets to make our daily operations more seamless and efficient, while responding to the demands of the market for a safer and faster way of doing business.
Thus, we embarked on a Transmutation Plan that encompasses three core aspects of our business operation: People, Process, and Projects. We realigned our resources according to the requirements of the new normal, and we have set – as our primary objective- the transmutation of Empire East as one of the first digitally-transformed and technologically-efficient companies in the industry.
The Company considers its People as an indispensable asset. Most of our employees and salespeople were given the opportunity to adopt a work-from-home set-up that kept them safe from health risks and which resulted to reduced overhead costs for operations. Customized Telecommuting Approaches were implemented depending on each personnel’s roles and functions; and activities for continuous growth and wellness have been conducted.
We reengineered our Processes by streamlining the procedures and expediting the flow of transactions through full digitalization or automation.
Lastly, we recalibrated our services and targets related to our Projects, both internally and externally. We wanted to ensure that amidst the deferment of the original timetable in each development, the Company would be able to satisfactorily deliver its commitment and consistently sustain the trust of its stakeholders.
The erratic times brought by the pandemic have hurled huge waves on our operations. However, because of the combination of: a proactive management, essential and well-conceived product offerings, crisis-resilient communities, an intelligent market, and adaptable employees, we remain a very vigorous Company that is on track with our goals.
We continue to rise
Empire East continues to pave its way towards progress as we take further steps in developing our largest project to date—the 24-hectare Empire East Highland City along Felix Avenue in the boundary of Pasig City and Cainta, Rizal. Since we launched the project, it has become one of the most popular and sought-after projects among Philippine homebuyers. The high-rise towers of its first residential phase, Arcadia, are enjoying brisk sales and will soon be completely sold out. This 37-tower project is one of the most promising real estate developments in the country today because of its nature-themed development as well as the news on the opening of new infrastructure projects nearby, like the much-anticipated LRT-2 East extension and the upcoming MRT-4.
Alongside Empire East Highland City, we are happy to report an increase in sales for our 4-tower premier residential development in Mandaluyong City, The Paddington Place, during 2020 up to the first months of 2021.
Meanwhile, Empire East communities remain resilient and responsive amidst the current adversity. On top of ensuring strict adherence to safety health protocols within the neighborhood, in our developments in Pioneer Woodlands in Mandaluyong City, San Lorenzo Place in Makati City, Little Baguio Terraces in San Juan City, Kasara Urban Resort Residences and The Rochester in Pasig City, Cambridge Village in the Pasig-Cainta area, and California Garden Square in Mandaluyong City, residents of all these developments have kept the Bayanihan spirit alive through their initiatives to help our fellowmen. This proves that owning an Empire East home from one of our communities is a great way to combat fear and anxiety from any pandemic or other calamities.
Further, in early 2020, together with its affiliates under the Alliance Global Group, Empire East pledged to build sustainable cities and communities in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. Such commitment can be delivered through our township development Empire East Highland City, and other upcoming projects. We also vowed to utilize renewable energy, lessen carbon footprint, create more job opportunities, and fight for gender equality in the workplace.
A new era ahead
If crises prepared us for growth, this pandemic is preparing us for the future. We have announced during our 25th year that we have lived up to generations as a strong “homebuilder brand” of unparalleled communities throughout the years.
We have proven that despite harsh conditions, your Company has remained very proactive, while your Company’s products have proven to be crisis-proof, and our communities continue to be among the most resilient.
We have once again proven that we do not just build homes. We offer protection and provision and a chance for nourishment for the future lifestyle of our stakeholders.
Together with all our stakeholders, we continue to re-imagine the future of Empire East—one that is sustainable in both its operational efficiency and its product development so that we can continue to provide safer and more caring homes for the Filipino people. With confidence, we march with you as we work through today’s challenges and transform them into opportunities for tomorrow.
Thank you, and please stay safe.
