Vista Land income jumps 42% to P3 billion

MANILA, Philippines - Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the property holding firm of the Villar family, reported a core net income of P3.015 billion last year, up 42 percent from 2007 on the back of higher sales from its low to middle-cost housing projects.

In a press briefing yesterday, Vista Land senior vice-president for finance Ricardo Tan Jr. said the company is in “very good shape” to weather the economic crisis given its strong balance sheet.

 “The strength and popularity of our Camella brand, which caters to the affordable and low end segments of the market, should permit Vista Land to do well during these tough times,” Tan said, as he noted the marked slowdown in demand for the high-end segment of the market.

With a cash position of P5.04 billion as of end-December last year, Vista Land is rolling out 28 projects this year, estimated to raise around P23 billion in revenues.

Benjamarie Therese Serrano, president and chief executive officer of Vista Land, said these projects are mostly geared towards the low and middle-income markets and located in the provinces.

 “We see a lot of opportunities in the provincial areas with the demand coming from overseas Filipino workers. They want to buy homes in their hometown provinces,” Serrano said.

While it remains upbeat on the prospects of the property sector, the company is taking a more cautious stance on spending amid the uncertainties in the global economic front. Capital spending for this year was pegged at P7.74 billion, seven percent lower than the P8.33 billion allotted a year earlier.

Bulk of this year’s capital budget, or P4.4 billion, will go to house construction while P1.7 billion will be used for land acquisition.  Another P1.7 billion has been earmarked for land development.

Last year, Vista Land launched 32 new projects valued at about P25 billion. 

Vista Land head for corporate planning Manuel Paolo Villar said the firm’s capex will be funded using internally generated cash and sales receivables as well as through borrowings. He said the company may borrow over P1 billion.

The company currently has a landbank of 1,858.6 hectares, sufficient for development over the next 10 years. 

Serrano said sales take-up in the first quarter was slow with cancellation rate pegged at three to 3.5 percent this year.

Villar said the company has put in the backburner its plan to venture into business process outsourcing (BPO) development given an increasingly challenging business environment.

Vista Land, the country’s largest homebuilder, is the holding company of four business units – Brittany Crown, Crown Asia, C&P Homes and Communities Philippines. 

Brittany caters to the high-end market segment in Mega Manila while Crown Asia caters to the middle market.

Vista Land already has presence in Pangasinan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Batangas, Iloilo, Cebu, Leyte, Davao and Cagayan De Oro.