Vista Land income surges 83%

VILLAR-led Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. on Monday said its net income for the first half surged by 83% to P5.8 billion from P3.18 billion.

In a press release, Vista Land Chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. said he was pleased with the company’s performance “as we have sustained our growth trajectory for the year.”

“We have been launching more projects this year compared to last year. These launches will form part of our huge project pipeline,” he added.

The company said it had launched a total of P24.3 billion worth of projects across the country.

Its consolidated revenues for the six-month period went up by 8% to P18.35 billion from P16.97 billion.

Mr. Villar said reservation sales went up by 12% to P35.6 billion.

Vista Land placed its real estate revenues at P8 billion and its rental income at P7.9 billion. It also said that its gross margins for the first semester rose by over 300 basis points to 59%.

The company also recognized a P1.8-billion gain from insurance proceeds.

Vista Land President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel Paolo A. Villar said the company had seen “strong and sustained demand” in its horizontal and vertical residential projects from overseas Filipino buyers, which he said account for about 60% of total sales.

He said the company saw increased foot traffic and a “return to normalcy” for its over 1.6-million-square-meter portfolio of assets consisting of 45 malls, 56 commercial centers, and seven office buildings.

“Our strategy of maximizing our prime land is ongoing implementation, as we have been launching more Vista Estates across the country. These developments are mostly vertical and commercial projects which are geared towards the higher end of the income spectrum demand,” he added.

The company’s current land bank stood at a total of 3,085 hectares across the country.

On Monday, Vista Land was unchanged at P1.56 per share. — Adrian H. Halili