Vista Land hikes capex to P20 B

MANILA, Philippines - The real estate unit of the Villar family is jacking up its capital spending to as much as P20 billion this year to take advantage of the robust demand.

Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. will roll out more residential projects in the provinces in the next two to three months, its top official said.

“We are prepared to spend more than P18.5 billion....We might spend up to P20 billion,” Vista Land chairman and founder Sen. Manuel B. Villar said on the sidelines of the topping off ceremony of the first building of Wil Tower Mall.

Villar said Vista Land is looking to increase its capital expenditures to take advantage of increasing demand for house and lot units.

“We are going to launch 14 new projects in the next two to three months,” Villar said.

For this year, Vista Land will launch residential projects in 12 new locations. As of the first quarter, Vista Land had a presence in 31 provinces and 63 cities and municipalities around the country.

“We are going to open in Marbel in South Cotabato, Sta. Maria in Bulacan, Kalibo in Aklan, Silang in Cavite and Roxas City [in Capiz],” Villar said.

For 2013, Vista Land will launch P30 billion worth of projects offering 15,000 residential units, up from P25 billion and 12,000 units last year.

Villar said the bulk of Vista Land’s sales will come from the house and lot units given the strong demand from end-users and first time home owners.

Vista Land targets to grow its reservation sales by 15 to 20 percent to as much as P50 billion this year from P40.09 billion in 2012.

In terms of high-rise projects, Vista Land has nearly sold out units in the first building of the 42-storey Wil Tower Mall in Quezon City.

The project, in partnership with variety show host and celebrity Willie Revillame, includes a four-storey shopping mall.

Villar said the second tower that will require P1.5 billion in capital spending will be launched when the first building is sold out.

Villar said adjacent lots can also be developed to complement the Wil Tower Mall, which sells units at P3 million to P6 million each.

Vista Land will also expand its portfolio of shopping malls.

“Vista Land has four right now and we are putting up another four,” Villar said.

Specifically, the listed property firm will put up the new phases of Vista Mall in Presidio in Sucat and Evia in Daang Hari. It will also build a Vista Mall in San Fernando in Pampanga and in Antipolo.

Villar said this forms part of the company’s plan to put up 50 Vista Malls in the next five to six years to improve the company’s recurring income.

In the first quarter, profits of the country’s largest homebuilder jumped 29 percent to P1.34 billion while revenues climbed 21 percent to P4.86 billion in the first quarter.

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