The Philippine developer raised its regular payout but omitted last year’s special dividend, reducing the total cash return to shareholders as debt and financing costs climb.
Century Properties Group is returning more of its annual profit to shareholders through its regular dividend this year. But investors will receive less cash overall.
The property developer declared a regular dividend of ₱0.047837 a share on July 17, an increase of nearly 14 percent from last year’s regular payment. Missing from the announcement, however, was the special dividend that supplemented the company’s payout in 2025. Unless the board declares one later this year, the omission will reduce the company’s total common dividend by about 9 percent, even as Century Properties presents the new distribution as evidence of financial resilience.
Last year, Century Properties paid a regular dividend of ₱0.042114 a share and a special dividend of ₱0.010529, for a combined distribution of ₱0.052643 a share. The 2026 regular dividend, by comparison, amounts to ₱0.047837. That is an increase in the recurring payment but a decrease in the full-year cash return so far — an important distinction for investors who had begun to view the special payout as part of the company’s improving dividend story.
Century Properties has not said that special dividends have been permanently discontinued. The more precise conclusion is that the company did not declare one alongside its 2026 regular dividend. Still, the decision arrives at an awkward moment: residential sales and net income declined in the first quarter, operating cash flow remained negative, and the company’s debt and financing costs rose.
The company will distribute approximately ₱554.9 million, equal to 20 percent of its consolidated net income for 2025. Century Properties increased its minimum dividend payout ratio from 10 percent to 20 percent beginning in 2025, and executives emphasized that this year’s declaration maintained that policy. The dividend will be paid on Sept. 23 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 28.
At the company’s July 17 closing price of about ₱0.70 a share, the regular dividend represents a gross yield of roughly 6.8 percent — still substantial in a market where yield is an important part of the appeal of mature property companies. But the yield calculation also obscures the year-over-year reduction in actual dividends per share when last year’s special payment is included.
The restraint reflects a broader tension confronting Century Properties. The company is attempting to preserve a generous shareholder return while funding new developments, managing a larger debt load and navigating softer conditions in its core residential business.
A Softer Start to the Year
Century Properties reported ₱3.58 billion in consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2026, down 4 percent from ₱3.72 billion a year earlier. Real estate sales, its largest source of revenue, fell nearly 8 percent to ₱3.09 billion from ₱3.35 billion. Management attributed the decline to slower sales take-up, collections, and construction activity, as well as a shrinking pool of condominium inventory, as several projects have been completed and are nearly sold out.
The company said geopolitical disruption in the Middle East had contributed to slower sales and collections, an important consideration for a housing market supported in part by overseas Filipino income. Century Properties expects sales activity to improve gradually in the third and fourth quarters, but the first-quarter figures suggest that the developer entered 2026 with less momentum in its traditional residential business.
There were bright spots. Leasing revenue climbed 73 percent, to ₱258.4 million, as occupancy recovered from the disruption caused by the Philippine ban on offshore gaming operators. Property-management and other service revenue rose 16 percent, while hotel revenue increased 20 percent. Gross margin also improved to about 48 percent from 46 percent, as the cost of real estate sales declined faster than revenue and newer projects generated better margins.
Those gains, however, were largely absorbed by rising expenses. General, administrative and selling costs increased 23 percent, to ₱1.12 billion. Commissions more than doubled to ₱273.5 million, while salaries, depreciation, taxes and professional fees also climbed. Gross profit increased by only ₱19 million, but general, administrative and selling expenses rose by ₱211 million — leaving the company’s underlying operating contribution under considerably more pressure.
Net income fell 6 percent, to ₱445.7 million, from ₱473.3 million a year earlier. The decline might have been steeper without a sharp increase in interest and other income, which rose to ₱448.2 million from ₱191.7 million. Much of the increase came from penalties and surcharges assessed on overdue real estate installments, a source of income that may be less dependable than proceeds from home sales, rent, or property management contracts.
Borrowing More, Paying More
The increase in borrowing costs presents the clearest argument for holding back the special dividend.
Interest and other financing charges rose by 24 percent to ₱398.6 million during the first quarter. Total interest-bearing debt stood at ₱21.54 billion at the end of March, compared with ₱16.43 billion a year earlier. The company’s reported debt-to-equity ratio increased to 0.9 times from 0.7 times, while debt to annualized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to 5.2 times from 4.2 times. Interest coverage weakened to 2.9 times from 3.2 times.
Century Properties raised ₱5 billion through a bond offering in February. The borrowing helped lift cash and cash equivalents to ₱5.24 billion from ₱2.49 billion at the end of December, and part of the proceeds was used to repay existing obligations and support project spending. But the issue also raised the company’s bond balance and will add to interest obligations in future periods.
The larger cash balance was not produced by the company’s operations. Century Properties used ₱658.2 million in operating cash during the first quarter, compared with ₱346.2 million a year earlier. Payments to suppliers and creditors, financing costs, and taxes outweighed operating inflows. Net cash increased only because financing activities — chiefly the bond issuance — provided ₱3.48 billion.
The company has also been managing a covenant issue tied to a subsidiary’s loan from Philippine National Bank. Lower occupancy after the offshore-gaming ban caused the subsidiary to fall short of a required debt-service-coverage ratio at the end of 2025. Century Properties obtained a waiver covering the December 2025 and June 2026 testing periods and prepaid ₱500 million of principal in March, allowing the remaining balance to be classified as long-term debt.
A Dividend Cut in Everything but Name
Century Properties can reasonably argue that it did not cut its regular dividend. The regular payment rose by 13.6 percent, matching the growth in 2025 net income, and the company adhered to its 20 percent payout policy. The regular dividend also remains comfortably covered by earnings.
But shareholders receive dividends in pesos, not in policy labels. On that measure, the picture is less favorable.
The regular and special payouts in 2025 totaled approximately ₱610.6 million for common shareholders. This year’s declared distribution is about ₱554.9 million, a reduction of roughly ₱55.7 million. Per share, the decline is about 9.1 percent. If no additional dividend is declared, 2026 will mark a retreat in total shareholder cash returns despite the higher regular rate.
The decision appears less like an abandonment of dividends than a recalibration of priorities. Century Properties must balance distributions against residential launches, construction spending, refinancing requirements and a costlier capital structure. Executives have said future dividends will be guided by earnings, cash generation, investment opportunities and the company’s overall financial position — language that leaves room for generosity, but also for caution.
For investors, the message is similarly divided. The yield remains attractive, leasing is recovering, and gross margins are improving. Yet the company is paying less overall at the same time that residential sales are declining, earnings quality is becoming more dependent on other income, operating cash flow is negative, and leverage is higher.
Century Properties has not stopped paying shareholders. It has simply chosen, for now, to keep more of the money close at hand.
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Disclaimer: This is for informational purposes and is not investment advice. Figures are taken from company disclosures and exchange data; valuation ratios include the author’s calculations based on cited inputs.
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