Vista Land profit climbs 12% to P2.8B

MANILA, Philippines - Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the country’s largest homebuilder, reported a double-digit uptick in revenues and earnings in the first half, a trend company officials said will continue for the rest of the year.

In a briefing, Vista Land president and CEO Manuel Paolo A. Villar said net income climbed 12 percent to P2.8 billion in the first semester from P2.5 billion a year ago.

The improvement stemmed from the 14-percent growth in revenues to P11 billion from P9.7 billion, while reservation sales rose by a tenth to P25.9 billion.

“Vista Land continues to remain firmly on a solid growth path. Demand for housing continued to be robust, particularly in the affordable price segment which is dominated by our Camella brand,” said Vista Land chairman Manuel B. Villar.

“There is no oversupply in housing and our  plans to expand countrywide remain unchanged,” he added.

The listed property holding company has residential housing developments in 34 provinces and 74 cities and municipalities around the country, solidifying its dominant position in the local housing sector.

Vista Land is the holding company of six business units: luxury brand Brittany, upper middle income segment Crown Asia, middle income units Camella Homes and Communities Philippines, condominium builder Vista Residences and socialized housing arm Lumina Homes Inc.

In the first half, Vista Land launched 21 projects with an estimated value of P13.1 billion. These projects are located in Metro Manila, Bataan, Batangas, Bulacan, Cebu, General Santos City, Pampanga and Tarlac.

The homebuilder committed to launch P28 billion worth of projects this year, two-thirds of which are under Camella Homes.

The property arm of the Villar family spent P10.4 billion in capital expenditures so far, 48 percent of the P21.6 billion budget for the year.

“We’re in line with double-digit increase in reservation sales, revenues and earnings for the year,” the younger Villar said. Net income of the company rose 15 percent to a record P5.06 billion for the entire 2013, from P4.38 billion in 2012, as real estate sales climbed 23 percent to P20.02 billion.