Vista Land Q2 profit gets boost from higher margins, leasing income
Villar-led Vista Land & Lifescapes (VLL) grew its second quarter attributable net profit by 56.5 percent year-on-year to P1.66 billion coming from a low base seen last year when pandemic-induced restrictions were at their strictest.
This brought VLL’s six-month attributable net profit to P3.65 billion, up by 7.5 percent from the previous year. Including earnings attributable to minority interest, six-month net income rose by 9 percent year-on-year to P3.8 billion.
Sequentially, VLL’s second quarter net profit declined by 16.8 percent from the first quarter bottom line of P1.99 billion as tighter lockdown protocols were reimposed in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces at end-March through early April.
In the first six months, the company’s gross margin improved by 450 basis points while cash flow margin likewise improved by 390 basis points due to the various operational efficiency measures undertaken during the period.
“We remain optimistic with the industry, especially with the performance of overseas Filipino (OF) remittances, which registered two consecutive months of double-digit growth and are currently at 6.6 percent growth for the first five months of the year. Demand from OFs remained strong, which contributed to the 14-percent growth in our reservation sales of P29.4 billion for the period,” Vista Land chair Manuel Villar Jr. said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
“The pandemic also provided a venue for the company to review its strategies and implement various operational efficiency measures which resulted in improvement in our margins,” he added.
VLL generated real estate revenues of P11.1 billion in the first six months, down by 13 percent year-on-year due to the slower construction activities in the provincial areas where various levels of lockdown were implemented during the period.
Leasing income
On the other hand, leasing income increased by 6 percent year-on-year to P3.6 billion in the first semester. Newly opened commercial centers, where the majority of the tenants are essential goods and service providers, such as home stores and supermarkets, contributed to the topline growth. “The various digital initiatives we have implemented since last year are already yielding positive results, but we have just started, and we are working on more initiatives, all aimed at better serving our clients as well as expand our reach,” VLL president and chief executive officer Manuel Paolo Villar said.
VLL spearheaded the biggest virtual property exposition in the country, the ViCon, a two-day event that showcased all the real estate brands of the Villar Group, complete with virtual booths and speakers from the industry, intended for potential buyers around the world. The company also digitalized its online reservation system for all product offerings, expanded online payment options, conducted virtual property tours and extensively used social media platforms.
Capital expenditure for the first semester reached P11.3 billion, mainly for construction and land development.
VLL’s total assets ended June at P301.1 billion. The company had 2,953 hectares of land as of this period. A total of P5.2 billion worth of projects were launched during the semester, comprising one high-end residential project, three affordable projects and two mid-rise buildings.
