Vista Land profit up 10.3% to P1.6B in Q1

Villar-led property developer Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. is spending P25.1 billion this year for new expansion projects in a bid to sustain double-digit revenue and profit growth until yearend.

In a press briefing, Vista Land president and chief executive Manuel Paolo A. Villar disclosed that the company’s net income rose 10.3 percent to P1.64 billion during the first quarter from P1.49 billion a year ago as revenues rose 10.4 percent to P6.06 billion from P5.49 billion.

Reservation sales were up 9.2 percent year-on-year to P14.13 billion during the three-month period, which according to Villar “confirms our reading that demand for housing across the country continues to be strong.”

While Villar did not disclose Vista Land’s profit and revenue guidance for 2015, he said sustaining double-digit growth this year was possible.

About a fourth of the total capital expenditures allotted for 2015 or P6.5 billion has already been spent as of the end of the first quarter. During the first three months, P3 billion from the capex went to the construction of housing units, P2.2 billion on land acquisition and P1 billion for land development, Villar said.

For the entire 2015, the company plans to spend P15.7 billion on construction, P5.5 billion on land development and P3.9 billion on land acquisition. This year’s capex is higher than last year’s P21 billion.

In 2015, Vista Land is looking at rolling out P40 billion worth of new and expansion projects to build a total of 20,000 housing units, the bulk of which will be horizontal developments.

During the first quarter, the company launched 13 projects worth roughly P12 billion, Villar disclosed.

Last year, Vista Land rolled out P27 billion worth of projects that churned out 13,000 condominium as well as horizontal housing units.

For former senator Manuel B. Villar Jr., who chairs the company, “2015 promises to be another record year for Vista Land.”

“We are pleased to have been able to sustain solid growth achieved over the past years and should have no problem achieving our full year targets. Our positive outlook for the year is also due to the fact that Vista Land’s land bank and existing projects are beneficiaries of the Philippines’ macroeconomic fundamentals and the government’s push to accelerate infrastructure development,” the elder Villar said.