Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., the Villar-led property development firm, said its income grew 11 percent to P4.2 billion in January to June, from last year’s P3.84 billion.
Gross revenues came in at P7.97 billion for the six-month period, or just half of last year’s P16.12 billion.
“We remain optimistic about the industry for the rest of the year, especially against an economic backdrop that I consider is on a rebound given the strong GDP growth which is forecast to reach 7 percent to 9 percent for 2022,” Vista Land Chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. said.
“We have also seen sustained growth in overseas Filipino (OF) remittance which is projected to grow 4 percent this year. Demand from OF remained strong which is a factor in the 8 percent growth in our reservation sales of P32 billion for the first half.”
Real estate revenues for the first half fell 20 percent to P8.8 billion from last year’s P11.11 billion, but rental income rebounded at P4.93 billion, a threefold increase from last year’s P1.63 billion.
For the second quarter alone, the company’s net income grew 10 percent to P1.91 billion from last year’s P1.73 billion, while revenues came in flat at P7.3 billion.
“The pandemic also provided a venue for the company to review its strategies and implement various operational efficiency measures, which resulted in an improvement in our margins. We have also announced our push for the upscale, vertical and commercial projects in our existing developments through our Vista Estate in various areas around the country, which we are now launching,” Villar said.
The company launched a total of 5 projects in the second quarter valued at P11 billion. These include three Vista Estate projects named Aspen in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan; Vidarte in Antipolo, Rizal; and Stanza in Tanza, Cavite. The project launch value to date already exceeded the 2021 figure, it said.
Two years of not having new malls, the company opened Vista Mall Davao, a 21,000 square meter in gross floor area mall, which houses the retail concepts of the group.
As of end-June, the group now has over 1.6 million square meters of gross floor area of investment properties consisting of 32 malls, 69 commercial centers and 7 office buildings.
Capital expenditure for the period reached P11 billion mainly for construction and land development. Land acquisitions remained muted as the company disclosed that it is looking at maximizing its existing land bank. The company has 2,925 hectares of land as of end-June.
Meanwhile, VistaREIT Inc. (VREIT), Vista Land’s real estate investment trust, recorded a net income of P802.67 million for the first half.
Since the injection of the 10 community malls and two PEZA-registered office buildings of the company, rental revenues were at P934 million.
The company was listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange on June 15.
“We are pleased with the strong performance of our 12 commercial assets—the majority of which are community-based malls—as we take advantage of the so-called ‘revenge retail’,” Manuel Paolo A. Villar, VREIT president said.
“VREIT is poised to hit its target for the year. Footfall has been improving and our system-wide occupancy as of June 30 stood at 97 percent. We remain optimistic for the remainder of the year as the economy continues to open up and businesses are now able to navigate through this pandemic.”
The company also declared its first dividend amounting to P157.5 million or P0.0210 per share for shareholders of record as of August 302 to be paid on September 20. The dividend represents 100 percent of the distributable income for the two-month period ending June 30.