Vista Land profit grows 16% to P10.5 billion

MANILA, Philippines — Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the listed property developer of the Villar family, recorded a double digit growth in net income despite a high inflationary environment.

“It was quite a good year last year,” Vista Land president and chief esecutive officer Manuel Paolo Villar said, noting that the macro economic environment was strong and the growing income of Filipinos.

The company posted a net income of P10.5 billion last year, up 16 percent driven by the better than expected growth of its residential business and the sustained contribution of its commercial assets.

Consolidated revenue grew 15 percent to P41.5 billion.Of this, revenue from real estate was P31.9 billion, up 15 percent.

On the other hand, leasing income rose 15 percent to P6.9 billion.

Vista Land chairman Manuel Villar Jr. said the company saw a marked improvement in reservation sales, which grew 16 percent to P75 billion.

“We have successfully implemented the expansion program of our leasing business ending 2018 with 1.4 million square meters of gross floor area (GFA),” he said.

“We remain optimistic for the industry given the robust demand in our residential business as well as the continued growth of our leasing propelled by the steady growth in Filipinos’ disposable income, Overseas Filipino remittances, and the infrastructure development around the country especially in areas outside Metro Manila, where we have a competitive edge given our presence in so many areas of the country,” Villar added.

The younger Villar said OFWs continue to be a strong market for the company’s businesses.

Capital expenditures for the year amounted to P45 billion.

“We are confident about the company’s prospects for the coming year as we have delivered strong residential sales in 2018 and have a significant leasing portfolio now accounting for about a quarter of our net income,” the younger Villar said.

In terms of pipeline, the company has launched P51.7 billion worth of residential projects, most of which were in the low and affordable segment and outside Metro Manila.

“We continue with our strategy of expanding our geographic reach which currently is at 146 cities and municipalities across 48 provinces around the country,” he said.

Moving forward, Vista Land intends to focus on the development of Communicities, an integrated urban developments combining lifestyle retail, prime office space, university town, healthcare, themed residential developments and leisure components.