PROFITS OF Ongpin-led property firm Alphaland Corp. posted a turnaround in the first quarter on the back of higher rental income, the company said in a financial report. “During the first quarter, the consolidated net income of the company amounted to P9.3 million, while previous year’s first quarter reported a consolidated net loss of P19.7 million,” the property said. Tenant occupancy reportedly jumped by 87% for the Alphaland Mall and 82% in Alphaland Southgate Tower, compared with 76% and 10% recorded respectively in the previous year. Revenues more than doubled to P57.15 million from P22.11 million in the same period last year. “Total lease revenues for Alphaland Southgate Tower for the quarter is P57.1 million… Several large tenants…have started to occupy their floors since the start of the year,” Alphaland said. Foot traffic inside the developments also increased by 45% year on year. The strong revenue flows offset a 74% growth in costs and expenses to P52.51 million from P30.19 million year on year. Alphaland is owned by RVO Capital Ventures Corp., a company controlled by former trade minister Roberto V. Ongpin. The property developer plans to spend as much as P1.2 billion to build new projects and expand existing ones this year, according to earlier reports. Projects in the pipeline include the 424-hectare Alphaland Balesin Country Club in Quezon’s Lamon Bay. It will have residential units and leisure facilities for members. Shares in Alphaland, which joined the local stock exchange in 2009 under a backdoor listing scheme, were last traded on May 23 at P53 each.