Vista Land 2020 net income down 45%

Villar-led Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. (VLL) on Thursday reported a 45% decline in its bottom line for 2020, reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business.

VLL recorded a consolidated net income of P6.4 billion, while consolidated total revenues dropped 26% to P32.7 billion.

"The past year truly challenged our ability to move forward despite the presence of a global health crisis," VLL chairman Manuel Villar, Jr. said in a regulatory filing.

"However, it even proved to be one of our most innovative years yet as we accelerated our digital transformation to reach and to better serve our clients," he added.

Villar said reservation sales have grown 37% since the second quarter of 2020, and this is expected to continue following the climb in remittances from overseas Filipinos which grew 4%.

The company's leasing business was also able to ramp up to 95% operational gross floor area (GFA), as most of the tenants are categorized as "essential."

"Vista Land will continue to capitalize on its geographic reach as the demand and preference of affordable housing located outside Metro Manila continues to be seen," said VLL president and CEO Manuel Paolo Villar.

"We are also looking at increased foot traffic with the start of the vaccination rollout this year," he added, noting that the leasing business currently enjoys foot fall of 45% to 55% of pre-COVID levels.

VLL operates its residential and commercial property development business through six business units: Camella Homes, Communities Philippines, Crown Asia, Brittany, Vista Residences, and Vistamalls.

The elder Villar was again ranked as the Philippines' richest man in 2020, based on Forbes' Billionaires 2021 List. The publication reported his net worth at $7.2 billion, which grew from $5.6 billion in 2020 amid the pandemic.

Shares in VLL closed Thursday down be a centavo or 0.27% at P3.68 apiece versus Wednesday's finish of P3.69. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News