Vista Land eyes P1 billion rental income in 3 years

MANILA, Philippines - Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the holding firm for the property units of the Villar family, is aiming to hit P1 billion in income from the rental of retail/office space in the next three years as it jacks up its commercial leasing portfolio.

In an informal get-together with reporters Monday night, Vista Land president and chief executive officer Benjamarie Therese Serrano said the company is moving aggressively to build more commercial space as part of a strategy to diversify its sources of income which traditionally come from housing sales.

Serrano said the company has around 15 to 20 of land hectares in Sucat, Parañaque suitable for office and retail development. Plans are also underway to do commercial developments in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to be integrated into the group’s residential projects in the area.

 “We want to focus on doing master-planned communities to meet the needs of our customers,” she said.

Ricardo B. Tan Jr., Vista Land vice-president for finance, said the firm is also going full blast on its regional expansion with projects in Iloilo, Davao and Cebu.

Among the companies under Vista Land include Brittany, which caters to the high-end segment of the market, Crown Asia, Camella Homes, Communities Philippines and Vista Residences, the corporate vehicle for all the group’s residential condominium projects.

Tan said the company is on track to meet its sales target this year of P20 billion, mainly coming from its affordable and low-cost housing unit under the Camella brand.

In the first quarter this year, Vista Land’s core net income grew 10.15 percent to P694 million from P630 million a year earlier. Revenues likewise rose nine percent to P2.68 billion as sales take-up surged 50 percent to P5.05 billion.

From P2.3 billion last year, the company’s core income is forecast to increase although it would still be below P3 billion. In 2009, Vista Land posted a net profit of P2.3 billion, 18 percent lower than the previous year.

As of end-March this year, Vista Land had cash of P2.52 billion and total assets of P55.13 billion. Interest-bearing loans, on other hand, stood at P945 million while consolidated liabilities reached P19.05 billion.

It had already launched nine projects this year valued at P5 billion. Of these projects, four are in low and affordable segments, two in middle-high end and two are condominium projects in Quezon City.

Capital spending is seen to reach P10.2 billion this year, of which P1.7 billion has already been used up by the company.