Vista Land jacks up 2018 profit goal

Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. has raised its net profit growth outlook this year to 15-17 percent, faster than the previous guidance of 12 percent, after posting better-than-expected performance in the first semester.

Vista Land grew net profit in the first semester by 17 percent to P5.2 billion, driven by a double-digit growth in earnings from its residential development and commercial leasing portfolio.

Manuel Paolo Villar, president and chief executive officer of Vista Land, said the upgrade in 2018 profit target was due to the stronger-than-expected performance in the first semester, particularly in the residential segment.

Six-month consolidated revenue rose by 16 percent to P21.1 billion from a year ago. Real estate and recurring revenues both rose by 16 percent year-on-year to P16.7 billion and P3.3 billion, respectively, in the first six months.

“We are very pleased with our first semester results which brings us closer to achieving another record year,” Vista Land chair Manuel Villar Jr. said in a statement.

As an indicator of future revenue growth, reservations sales grew by 18 percent year-on-year during the first semester to P38 billion, which outpaced the 12 percent growth in the same period last year.

Shopping mall arm Starmalls Inc., for its part, grew its net income by 19 percent year-on-year to P1.2B revenues on the back of revenues which expanded by 16 percent year-on-year to P3.2 billion.

To help fund group-wide capital spending budget of P45 to P50 billion this year, Vista Land plans to raise P5 to P10 billion from an offering of retail bonds this second semester. Capital expenditures in the first half of the year amounted to P22.4 billion.

The company’s total consolidated assets as of end-June stood at P221.4 billion compared to P199.9 billion at yearend 2017.

“We remain confident about the company’s prospects for the rest of the year as we continue to expand our rental spaces which complements our existing core and stable end-user housing business,” he said.

Vista Land ended June with a total gross floor area of 1.12 million with the opening of new malls in the provincial areas, namely, Iloilo and Naga. The new malls have been well-received and very successful as the company took advantage of the existing Vista Land communities where those malls were opened, the younger Villar said.