Vista Land OKs P35-B bond program

MANILA  -Tycoon Manuel Villar Jr.’s Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. approved a P35-billion bond program to help bankroll its expansion plans.

Vista Land said in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday its board of directors approved the registration of bond that would be sold over a period of three years. The initial tranche will involve the sale of P10 billion worth of bonds, it added.

The base offer amounts to P6 billion plus an oversubscription option for P4 billion.

While no other details were provided, Villar had indicated their intention to become more aggressive in the second half of the year.

Villar told reporters last month that Vista Land will soon announce a series of new projects across the country, which will include some of its new township-type developments.

“We will have the most number of [project] launches this second half [of 2023] up to next year all over the country,” he said.

This also comes after the builder “retooled” its business model, which included a strategic shift away from more affordable housing projects last year.

The company earlier announced plans to launch as many as 44 estates spanning a combined 1,400 hectares.

Vista Land maintained robust earnings growth in the first half of 2023 due to the strong recovery of rental income.

Overall revenue climbed 8 percent to P18.3 billion as leasing income jumped 24 percent to P7.92 billion.

Revenues from real estate sales dipped 8 percent to P8.02 billion mainly due to a slowdown at its Brittany and Camella housing brands.

Vista Land ended the first semester with a net income of P5.8 billion, up 83 percent, which includes a one-time P1.8 billion gain from insurance proceeds. Core profit during the period reached P4.2 billion.

Vista Land’s total assets during the first six months of the year stood at P335.4 billion while equity was at P129.3 billion. The builder said its balance sheet remains strong with a debt to equity ratio of 84 percent.

Meanwhile, capital spending from January to June reached P12.2 billion mainly for construction and land development activities.