Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the country’s largest homebuilder, said it plans to spend P25 billion in 2020 primarily to fund the rollout of house-and-lot projects.
Vista Land said in a disclosure to the stock exchange about 90 percent of the P25-billion programmed 2020 capital expenditures would be spent for construction and land development, while the remaining 10 percent would be for land acquisition and payment of land payables.
Vista Land said it already spent P6.5 billion in the first half.
The property said it would closely monitor the situation and changes in consumer behavior as a result of the “new normal”.
“We are revisiting our planned project launches as well as the expansion program of our leasing business for the rest of the year. And as previously mentioned, we have the capacity to fast-track construction if we deem it necessary,” said Vista Land chairman Manuel Villar Jr.
The company said it remained optimistic on the residential business as it began to see a pick-up in activity and improvement in reservation sales in the past two months.
Vista Land said June reservation sales were already at about 70 percent of pre-COVID level with sales in July tracking better than June.
These sales were predominantly online, a positive response to the company’s aggressive shift to digital platforms for marketing initiatives.
“We are hoping that these encouraging signs in our residential business will continue. With the growing importance of staying at home, we are also seeing an increased preference for our housing products especially in the provincial areas. We are now taking advantage of Vista Land’s geographic reach, being present in 147 cities and municipalities across the country,” said Vista Land president and chief executive Manuel Paolo Villar.
Vista Land in July raised $200 million from the issuance of dollar-denominated notes due 2027.
The $200-million notes, which carry a coupon rate of 7.25 percent, forms part of the company’s $2-billion medium-term note program.
Net proceeds from the fund-raising activity will be used to refinance existing debt; purchase, develop, construct or improve assets, property and equipment; and for general corporate purposes.