Despite the prolonged pandemic, property developer Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. (VLL) is banking on resilient overseas Filipino remittances to drive a better business performance this year.
“While COVID-19 continues to impact our performance, both on our leasing and residential businesses, we still anticipate a better year with indicators such as strong overseas Filipinos remittances and the ramping up of the vaccination rollout across the country,” VLL chair Manuel Villar Jr. said in a press statement.
“I founded Camella Homes more than 40 years ago to help out fellow Filipinos—with an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) as our very first home buyer—to buy a place they can call their own and I am just so glad that four decades after and even with an ongoing health crisis, here we are, still building the best homes for our kababayans (countrymen),” Villar added.
VLL booked P1.99 billion in attributable net profit in the first quarter of 2021, about a third of earnings generated for the whole of last year. Due to pandemic-related disruptions, net profit last year declined to P6.06 billion from P11.27 billion in the previous year.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas recently reported that OFW remittances recorded double-digit growth for the second straight month in May, rising by 13.3 percent year-on-year. For the five-month period, remittances sustained a growth of 6.6 percent.
As 55 percent to 60 percent of VLL’s business comes from OFW-supported households, VLL sees resilient remittances favoring its growth goal this year.
VLL, together with the property brands from the Villar Group, recently held its digital endeavor, The ViCon. The firm said this was the Philippines’ first and biggest virtual property exposition that showcased the group’s offerings across various price points. This online expo served those looking for homes, property investments or premium commercial space across the country.