MANILA, May 15 (PNA) — Villar-led property holdings group Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. will launch Php40 billion worth of projects this year on expectations that housing demand will remain robust ahead of the 2016 elections.
“Elections are boost because what the government is doing is they are accelerating all the infrastructure (projects). So there will be a lot of spending usually in an election year and the year before the election, there is usually a boost in consumer spending,” said company president and chief executive officer Manuel Paolo Villar.
Villar said bulk of the residential condominiums and vertical projects under affordable Camella brand comprising 20,000 units will be launched by the second half of the year.
He said that of the total, Php10 billion worth of projects are located in Mega Manila and Php5-billion projects in Vista City.
“We expect higher (sales) take-up in the second half. (Most of our project) launches are timed in the third quarter,” Villar said.
Vista Land already launched 13 projects with an estimated value of about Php12 billion in the first quarter of 2015.
Most of the projects launched are in the low and affordable segment and are located in areas outside Metro Manila, namely Quezon, Negros Oriental, Bacolod, Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro.
Vista Land booked a 10-percent surge in profit in the first quarter of 2015 to Php1.64 billion compared to Php1.49 billion during the same period last year.
Its revenues also grew by 10 percent to Php6.06 billion from Php5.49 billion.
“Our positive outlook for the year is also due to the fact that Vista Land’s land bank and existing projects are beneficiaries of the Philippines’ macroeconomic fundamentals and the government’s push to accelerate infrastructure development,” said Vista Land Chairman Manuel B. Villar, Jr.
Meanwhile, the company earmarked Php25.1 billion for capital expenditures for 2015, of which Php15.7 billion is for construction, Php5.5 billion for land development and Php3.9 billion for land acquisition.
“In addition to our expansion in the provinces, we have continued to move forward with our plans for the various commercial centers within or near our existing developments, taking advantage of the rising middle class in the country,” added Paolo Villar.
Vista Land is recognized for its themed and masterplanned communities and its brands namely, Camella, Crown Asia, Brittany and Vista Residences, that offer quality housing across all market segments. (PNA)