Property developer Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. said Monday first-quarter net income declined 14 percent to P2.1 billion from a year ago on higher interest expenses and lower revenues.
Vista Land said in a disclosure to the stock exchange first-quarter revenues fell 12 percent to P8.7 billion. Real estate revenues in the first three months reached P6.3 billion, down 13 percent from a year earlier while leasing income dropped 9 percent to P2 billion.
“We continue to navigate through these still challenging times brought about by the pandemic but with a more optimistic outlook this year especially as the vaccination rollout ramps up. In addition, indicators such as overseas Filipinos demand remains to be resilient with an upward trend as the host countries of our OFs are on their way to achieving herd immunity,” said Vista Land chairman Manuel Villar Jr.
“The projected growth of OF remittances this year also bodes well for the Company since approximately 55 percent to 60 percent of our sales are OF sales,” he said.
The company continues to recover from the impact of the pandemic as first-quarter reservation sales reached P16.1 billion, up 4 percent from the same period last year.
Vista Land president and chief executive Manuel Paolo Villar said the company would maintain its stance on minimal land acquisition to enable it to maximize its existing land bank.
He said the company would be conservative in terms of leasing space expansion program. “However, the company has the capacity to fast track construction and to launch projects when opportunities present themselves,” Villar said.
Vista Land will also continue to be proactive in its liability management policy and will look at forming a real estate investment trust for office space.
The company said that in terms of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, the rest of the Villar Group was set to vaccinate its workforce across the Philippines.
It rolled out VHealthy, the group-wide vaccination initiative for employees. The group ordered vaccines from Moderna and Oxford-Astra Zeneca for its workforce.