Vista Land posts record-breaking income at

Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc., one of the country’s leading integrated developers with the widest reach, continues its record breaking streak with net income growing 12 percent to R9.1 billion last year from R8.1 billion in 2016.

In a press briefing, Vista Land President and CEO Manuel Paolo A. Villar said the stronger earnings was driven by the substantial contribution of its commercial assets coupled with the sustained growth of its core housing business.

Consolidated revenues grew 13 percent to R36.0 billion from R31.9 billion last year as revenues from real estate increased 10 percent to R27.6 billion while leasing income jumped 29 percent to R6.0 billion from R4.7 billion in year 2016.

“We are very pleased to report that 2017 is another banner year for the Company. We are taking advantage of the synergies that we have unlocked between our residential and leasing businesses,” said Vista Land Chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr.

He added that, “we have successfully implemented the expansion of our leasing business ending 2017 with over 1 million square meters of gross floor area (GFA). Our reservations sales continued the 12 percent growth registered in the past three quarters to end the year at R64.5 billion sales.”

The elder Villar said “we remain optimistic for the industry, given the robust demand for our housing products as well as our success in our leasing business propelled by the steady growth in the disposable income, of remittances, sound Philippine macroeconomic fundamentals and the government’s drive to accelerate economic activities and infrastructure developments outside Metro Manila, where we have a competitive advantage given that we have the widest geographic reach around the country.” To sustain this strong growth, the younger Villar said the company is allotting R50 billion for capital expenditures this year, up from the R35 billion budgeted for 2017 and the R37.4 billion actually spent.

He said Vista Land is aiming to open more malls and other commercial spaces to end 2018 with a gross floor area of 1.4 million square meters. In 2017, GFA breached the 1 million sqm mark at 1.04 million sqm from 0.88 million sqm in 2016.

Villar said that, aside from growing leasing revenues, residential sales are also seen to continue growing because demand from overseas Filipinos is now back to normal and the firm had to ramp up project launches three times last year.

“We launched 55 projects with an estimated value of R60.2 billion during the year, the highest