VISTA INCOME RISES TO P7.1B AS OF SEPT

Property giant Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. posted doubledigit profit and revenue growth in the first nine months of 2017 —a prelude to robust prospects for the property sector in the next few years, its top official said.

Paolo Villar, Vista Land CEO and president, announced in a briefing on Wednesday that the builder saw its net income from January to September increase 12 percent to P7.1 billion while total revenues rose to P26.9 billion, up also 12 percent, compared to the same period last year.

The company, considered the country’s largest and most widespread builder of horizontal communities, saw gains both from property sales and leasing.

Residential sales increased 9 percent to P20.8 billion while its leasing segment surged higher by 30 percent to P4.3 billion during the nine-month period.

Villar said on Wednesday the property sector was on a growth trajectory, led by overall economic growth, healthy liquidity in the financial system and upcoming transportation infrastructure projects.

“I think in the next two to three years, there will be property inflation,” Villar said, referring to the increase in real estate values that are going up as much as 30 percent in certain areas.

He said the increase was “across the board.”

“It’s happening everywhere, [especially] in Metro Manila and key provinces,” he added.

This bodes well for the builder, whose geographic footprint spans 132 cities and municipalities across the Philippines. Vista Land said it would cover 200 areas “in the near future.”

Villar said profit for the fullyear 2017 was on track to hit P9 billion, up 11 percent over the P8.1 billion it posted in 2016. For 2018, he said the company set its initial profit target at P10 billion.

From January to September this year, Vista Land launched 44 projects with a sales value of P46.1 billion.

Villar said the builder ended the period with a commercial leasing portfolio spanning one million square meters in gross floor area. Leasing now accounts for 28 percent of the company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.