Sales boost Vista Land earnings

Strong revenues buoyed the net income of property holding company Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. in the year's first half. Vista Land told the Philippine Stock Exchange Monday that its earnings rose by a fifth from P1.4 billion to P1.7 billion in the period. Revenues grew 21 percent to P6.6 billion as sales climbed 19 percent to P12.1 billion. Vista Land said it expects sales to hit record levels of P24 billion for the year. "The sustained increase in our real time sales over the last eight quarters confirms that our company has adopted the appropriate strategy to meet the underlying demand in the domestic property sector," said Manuel Paolo Villar, Vista Land president and chief executive officer. "We were quick to react to the steadily improving market sentiment and we have adopted an aggressive project pipeline for the coming years." Vista Land is the holding company of five business units - Brittany, Crown Asia, Camella Homes, Communities Philippines and its condominium development subsidiary, Vista Residences. The company has launched 17 subdivision projects around the country and has opened subdivision projects in three new areas in the Ilocos Region, Davao and Cebu. "We are now present in 21 provinces and 51 cities and municipalities countrywide and we intend to continue to expand," said Ricardo B. Tan Jr., Vista Land chief financial officer. -CMA/OMG, GMA News