Vista Land income declines by 14% in January-March

Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., the Villar Group’s property arm, on Monday said its income in the first three months of the year fell 14 percent to P2.1 billion from last year’s P2.44 billion.

Gross revenues fell 10 percent to P9.2 billion from last year’s P10.26 billion.

The company said it is looking at a capital expenditure budget of P27 billion for this year which is mainly for construction and land development.

Land acquisition budget remained muted as the company said it is maximizing its existing land bank. The company has 2,968 hectares of land as of end-March.

Vista Land said it saw continued quarterly improvement as reservation sales in the first quarter hit P16 billion, up by 4 percent from last year’s figure and 14 percent compared to the previous quarter.

Vista Land Chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. said the company is optimistic about the industry’s recovery especially with the growth in overseas Filipino remittances for two consecutive months.

“Over half of our sales come from overseas Filipinos and the demand from the sector remains resilient amid the current challenging time. We are also looking forward to the vaccination rollout of the country in relation to the further opening of the economy which will benefit not just our industry but the country as a whole,” he said.

Real estate revenues for the period fell 13 percent to P6.3 billion, while leasing income declined 9 percent to P2 billion.

Vista Land said its leasing business has the advantage of having majority of its tenants providing essential services—the main reason for the good performance of its retail properties.

In terms of its residential business, the company took advantage of various digital initiatives to further expand its sales and customer service.

The company implemented an online reservation system for all its product offerings, expanded its online payment options, shifted to virtual property tours and maximized the use of social media platforms.

“Our digital initiatives have become a permanent part of the company’s infrastructure. Our aim is to continue with our digital innovations to expand our reach as well as to better serve our clients and customers,” Manuel Paolo A. Villar, the company’s president and CEO, said.

Vista Land recently completed a $170-million dollar note offering which was part of its liability management exercise. Proceeds of the dollar float were used to refinance its dollar debt maturing in June 2022.

Article and Photo originally posted by Business Mirror last May 25, 2021 and written by VG Cabuag.