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RISING
inflation has put a dent on operations of listed
property developer Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. (VLL),
enough for it to implement a price increase for all its
products this year.
Manuel
Paolo A. Villar, VLL head for corporate, said the
increase will depend on the kind of product or project.
VLL is engaged in the construction of affordable to
high-end residential projects.
“Most
likely, the increase will be a high single-digit level
and reflected on the unit price. We intend to implement
the price increase on a gradual basis,” he explained.
It was
reported that inflation, or the rise in the prices of a
specific set of goods and services, last April was at
8.3 percent. Some economists predict that it could
breach the 9-percent level due to rising oil prices and
other important commodities.
The son
of Senate president Manuel Villar said the company,
which is majority-owned by his family, will implement
gradual price increases, depending on the project.
“Although it doesn’t stop there,” he warned.
“When we
do price increases, we also do redesigning and
reengineering of the house and change specifications
because we don’t want to disadvantage our customers,”
Villar explained.
While
the company expects lower growth in real-estate revenues
this year, he said the company still sees the affordable
housing segment to continue to perform well, banking on
the inflow of overseas Filipino workers remittances.
“Also,
banks are still liquid and can sustain the appetite for
mortgage loans,” Villar added.
VLL
reported a consolidated core income of P781 million in
the first quarter of 2008, up 89 percent from P413
million in the same period last year as real-estate
revenues of all subsidiaries continued to grow.
Earnings
from real-estate sales reached P2.62 billion during the
period from P2.014 billion in the previous year.
“We are
moving forward with our plans to continue expanding our
presence in new areas in the provinces this year. Demand
for housing has remained strong and we are on track to
meet our sales and revenue targets for the year,” said
senior vice president for finance Ricardo Tan Jr. in a
separate interview.
VLL
launched 10 new projects valued at about P7.3 billion in
the last quarter and plans to launch 33 more in the
remaining months of the year.
The
company has under its wing four business units—Brittany,
Crown Asia, C&P Homes and Communities Philippines.
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