VISTA LAND & Lifescapes, Inc. booked a double-digit growth in 2017, boosted by the expansion of its commercial leasing business alongside strong sales from its residential housing brands.

The Villar-led firm reported its net income last year stood at P9.1 billion, 12% higher year on year, supported by a 13.1% increase in revenues to P36.04 billion.

“We are taking advantage of the synergies that we have unlocked between our residential and leasing businesses… We remain optimistic for the industry, given the robust demand for our housing products as well as our success in our leasing business,” VLL Chairman Manuel B. Villar, Jr. was quoted as saying in a statement.

The real estate business accounted for bulk of the group revenues at P27.6 billion, or an 83% share. The affordable Camella housing brand remained to be the top driver for sales at 30%, followed by high rise condominium arm Vista Residences, CrownAsia, and Britanny.

VLL launched 55 residential projects worth P60.2 billion in 2017, mostly in the low and affordable market.

“We continued with our strategy of opening in new areas aggressively. We are now present in 133 cities and municipalities and we move closer to our target of having a presence in 200 cities and municipalities in the near future,” VLL President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel Paolo A. Villar said.

In a media briefing late Tuesday, the younger Villar said estimated project launches would reach around P50 billion this year. He also said that the company will be raising prices this year at a pace “a little more than inflation.”

“Land prices are increasing, that’s gonna be faster than inflation, as well as construction materials… so there will be pressures,” Mr. Villar said.

Meanwhile, the leasing business revenues accelerated by 28.5% to P6 billion last year.

VLL is currently ramping up its commercial leasing business with plans to have a gross floor area of 1.4 million square meters (sq.m.) by this year. This is in line with its target to expand the mall business so that it would account for 83% of the leasing segment. The remaining 17% will be filled up by office spaces dedicated to business process outsourcing (BPO) firms.

By the end of 2017, VLL had a total of 22 malls covering 834,268 sq.m., while its seven offices spanned 226,227 sq.m.

While Mr. Villar did not disclose how many malls they will be putting up this year, the company has earlier said it targets to have 60 malls by 2020.

The average occupancy rate in VLL’s malls — excluding recently opened ones — is now at 94%, with a tenant mix of food and beverage locators and retailers.

Mr. Villar noted its P50-billion capital spending for the year is intended to support its mall expansion. The 2018 capex is a significant increase from the company’s actual spending of P37 billion last year.

The VLL executive also said the actual spending for 2017 was higher than its initial budget of P35.3 billion, due to higher costs for land acquisition, construction, and land development.

Shares in VLL gained seven centavos or 1.08% to close at P6.55 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia

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