BELT TIGHTENING BOOSTS VISTA LAND’S INCOME

Billionaire Manuel Villar Jr.’s flagship property firm Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. saw profits rise in the first nine months of the year as the company controlled costs.

The developer said net income from January to September had expanded by 12 percent to P6.7 billion while revenues slipped 5.2 percent to P21.2 billion, its latest financial report showed.

Nevertheless, Vista Land rolled out 12 new projects during the third quarter with an estimated value of P21.8 billion.

“We are pleased with our performance, specifically, on our project launches this year,” Villar, who is chair of Vista Land, said in a separate statement.

“Over the last two years we have revisited our reserved lands and we were able to initially identify over 60 potential Vista Estate projects across the country, he added. We remain optimistic with the industry with the strong [gross domestic product] growth recently announced coupled with sustained overseas Filipino remittance and revenge spending from consumers,” Villar said.

“So far, we have launched six Vista Estates and this is just the beginning ... our aim is to maximize our existing land to its best use,” he added.

Reservation sales, an indicator of future revenue, climbed 10 percent to P48 billion during the nine-month period.

Vista Land said sales to overseas Filipino workers were resilient as the peso freefall boosted their spending power.