Thursday, November 12, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
THE CORE net income of the Villar-led Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. for the nine-month period ending September dropped 9% to P1.9 billion this year, from P2.1 billion in the same period last year, as revenues decline.
The real estate revenues of Vista Land for January to September dropped by 7% to P7.2 billion this year, from P7.8 billion during the same period last year.
But despite the lower net income, Ricardo B. Tan, Jr., Vista Land senior vice-president for finance, said the company’s financial results were well within expectations.
The company’s management is even recommending the declaration of a cash dividend of about three centavos per share within the fourth quarter, as it expects real estate revenues to pick up during the last three months of the year.
“Our third-quarter results were well within our expectations, although I believe we could have done slightly better had it not been for [tropical storm] Ondoy. Our real-time sales for the third quarter were above P4 billion, confirming that consumer confidence remains strong,” Mr. Tan said in a briefing yesterday.
“We expect to see even better sales performance in the fourth quarter as we have launched more projects over the last few months,” he added.
Vista Land Chief Financial Officer Manuel Paolo A. Villar said the decrease in net income can be attributed to the prevailing global economic slowdown. He said there has been some drop in sales from Filipino workers in the United States.
He, however, said the drop in US buyers is offset by the steady demand from Filipino working in the Middle East and Europe.
Mr. Villar said the company remains optimistic in its prospects for the next year as it has just launched six projects in the Mega Manila area (Metro Manila and suburbs) with a total value of P5 billion. He said the company intends to open 10 more projects next year.
“The property sector continues to gain momentum and although we are still somewhat cautious, we believe the industry is on a growth path for the next few years,” Mr. Villar said.
Vista Land expects its capital expenditures to reach P7.7 billion this year with majority of the budget to be used for land development. “We remain confident about our company’s prospects and we will continue to be the leader in the affordable housing market where demand has been stable,” Mr. Tan said.
“We believe Vista Land has a strong competitive advantage given the track record and popularity of our Camella brand. Furthermore, Vista Land by far has the broadest presence in the Philippines among all the major property developers,” he added.
Vista Land is the holding company of four business units, Brittany, Crown Asia, Camella Homes and Communities Philippines.-- Emilia Narni J. David
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