Vista Land declares cash dividend, names Manny Villar as new chairman

MANILA, Philippines - Former Senate President Manuel B. Villar Jr. is taking a more active role in property developer Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., which is jacking up its dividend payout to shareholders.

In a disclosure, Vista Land said its board has installed Villar as its new chairman replacing Marcelino Mendoza and director Ricardo Tan Jr. The former legislator  has been chairman emeritus of Vista Land since June 2007.

Tan resigned from his position as chief financial officer of the real estate  holding firm. He was replaced by Cynthia Javarez.

In the same regulatory filing, the country’s most geographically diverse property firm said its board also approved a cash dividend declaration.

Vista Land will be handing out a regular cash dividend of P0.102 per share representing 20 percent of the company’s net income in the previous year.

The homebuilder said it will pay a total of P870.95 million in dividends, up nearly 30 percent from P672.5 million or P0.08 per share last year.

Vista Land said stockholders as of Sept. 26 will receive the cash dividends on Oct. 22.

In the first half, Vista Land posted an 18-percent uptick in net income to P2.6 billion  from P2.2 billion last year while revenues rose 20 percent to P9.7 billion from P8.1 billion a year ago.

To date, Vista Land has projects in 31 provinces and 64 cities and municipalities nationwide.

For this year, the property firm of the Villar family targets to grow its profits and revenues by 15 to 20 percent. Last year, profit of Vista Land surged 24 percent to P4.37 billion while revenues climbed a fifth to P16.33 billion.