MANILA, Philippines - Villar-led Vista Land & Lifescapes is focusing on launching more affordable and low-cost residential projects in Mega Manila and provinces, as it sees robust demand from overseas Filipino workers.
In a press briefing on Thursday, Vista Land president and CEO Paolo Villar said the property firm has been seeing stable demand in the affordable and low-cost segments being served by its Camella and Communities Philippines brands.
"There's a lot of expansion in Camella product range. Communities Philippines is mostly Camella products, so that's P3.5 million and below. I think it's continuing the trend. We have moved our portfolio of products away, in terms of percentage, from the high-end. The demand from middle-income and lower-cost sectors is quite strong and we're taking advantage of that," he said.
Camella is Vista Land's brand for low-cost and affordable residential properties in Mega Manila, while Communities Philippines offers the same but in the provinces.
Villar said the company sees continued demand for its projects from overseas Filipino workers. "We continue to get majority of revenues from OFWs. It's been quite robust... OFWs still comprise strong demand for our products," he added.
In the first half of the year, Vista Land reported a 18% jump in the company's net income to P2.2 billion in the first half of the year. Revenues surged 20% to P9.7 billion in the January to June period, as sales remained robust growing 18% to P23.6 billion.
As of the January to June period, the bulk of Vista's revenues came from Communities Philippines (42%) and Camella (31%). The rest are from Crown Asia (12%), Brittany (10%) and condominium subsidiary Vista Residences (5%).
The revenue share of Brittany fell to 10% in the first half of 2013, from 16% a year ago. Villar explained this was the result of a "conscious decision" by management to focus on the Camella sector.
"Demand has stable and strong (in the Camella sector). For the next two years, that's where we're going... (But) even though the emphasis is on Camella, we're still have Brittany products like Portofino and the beautiful Crosswinds in Tagaytay," Villar said.
More projects this year
Vista Land has launched 19 projects so far this year, with an estimated value of P12.3 billion. Sixteen of the new projects are in the low and affordable segment, while three are in the middle income segment.
Of the 19 projects, 14 are located in areas outside of Metro Manila, such as Bulacan, Bataan, Cagayan de Oro, Pampanga, Tarlac, Leyte, Koronadal and Bohol.
"We are still expanding, we will be adding new projects in the second half in Mega Manila. But definitely our provincial expansion is continuing strongly," Villar said.
Vista Land chief financial officer Ricardo Tan said the company is on track to meet its target of launching P25-P30 billion worth of projects this year. However, he declined to give details on where the rest of the projects will be launched this year.
"We now have residential housing developments in 31 provinces and 64 cities and municipalities around the country. Our continued expansion in the provincial areas has solidified Vista Land's dominant position in housing in the Philippines," Tan said.
With these new projects, Vista Land expects full-year sales to hit a record of P46 billion.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
