Vista Land income soars to P1.34 B

MANILA, Philippines - Vista Land & Landscapes Inc., the main real estate unit of the Villar family, said it posted higher earning in the first quarter and expects continuous uptick in its reservation sales this year.

At the same time, Vista Land the country’s largest homebuilder, is tapping the debt markets for as much as P6 billion in loans to finance its P18.6-billion capital spending this year.

In a briefing, Vista Land chief finance officer Ricardo Tan Jr. said profits jumped 29 percent to P1.34 billion while revenues climbed 21 percent to P4.86 billion in the first quarter.

“2013 promises to be another record year for Vista Land. We are pleased to have been able to sustain the growth achieved last year and should have no problem achieving our full year targets,” he said.

For this year, the property firm targets to grow its profits and revenues by 15 to 20 percent. Last year, its earnings surged 24 percent to a record P4.37 billion while revenues climbed by a fifth to P16.33 billion.

Tan said reservation sales might also grow 15-20 percent to as much as P50 billion from P40.09 billion in 2012.

In the first quarter alone, Vista Land’s reservation sales rose 16 percent to P11.76 billion.

“Our first quarter reservation sales are close to P12 billion, which confirms our reading that demand for housing all around the country continues to be very strong,” Tan said.

Communities Philippines accounted for 35 percent of the revenues, followed by Camella (32 percent), Crown Asia (13 percent), Brittany (15 percent) and Vista Residences (five percent).

The listed real estate firm allotted P18.6 billion in capital expenditures this year.

“We launched 11 major subdivision projects during the quarter, eight of which are from the low and affordable segment,” said Vista Land president and CEO Manuel Paolo Villar, adding that the sales value of the projects reached P6.4 billion.

For this year, Vista Land will roll out P30 billion worth of projects offering 15,000 residential units, up from P25 billion and 12,000 units last year.

To support the capital spending, the real estate firm will secure P5-6 billion from local banks, Tan said.

Tan said Vista Land plans to take advantage of low interest rates through five-year, fixed-rate loans.

To date, Vista Land is present in 31 provinces and 63 cities and municipalities around the country. In January, the company launched Camella Ozamiz, Caribbean-themed community in one of the most progressive cities in Mindanao.

In the past 35 years, Vista Land has completed more than 250,000 housing units.