Vista Land shares inch up after slow start

REPORT FROM BUSINESSWORLD Property firm Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. barely managed to prop up its share prices on Thrusday when it listed shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). After a lackluster start which saw the company’s shares shedding five centavos from the P6.85 offer price, Vista Land managed to end the trading day 15 centavos stronger at P6.90 apiece. The closing price, however, was still 20 centavos less than Vista Land’s last recorded price of P7.10 apiece at the local bourse. Prior to Thursday’s listing of shares, Vista Land was already listed in the PSE by way of introduction. But while it did not have a spectacular showing at the stock market on Thursday, analysts said that Vista Land’s performance was not dismal either. "It managed to close above its offering. Although [closing price] was not that substantial, the upside would reflect that there’s support on the issue itself, maybe it came from the underwriters," Ron Rodrigo, research head of Unicapital Securities, Inc., said. Irving I. Ackerman, president of brokerage I. Ackerman & Co., said the Vista Land’s listing was "relatively successful." "It went down a little bit but it is still higher than the offer price of P6.85. Many investors [may be] losing but some may be gaining profits," he said. Rommel Macapagal, chairman of Westlink of Global Equities, Inc., said investors might have been staying at the sidelines and were satisfied at that price. "Big buyers were contented to buy and sell at that price. They could be after cash and liquidity." Analysts, however, agreed that Vista Land helped boost market turnover, which hit P7.11 billion from P5.52 billion the previous day. Formerly C&P Homes, Inc., Vista Land is the holding company of the Villar Group for its property firms. It is made up of three brands: Camella Homes, Brittany and Crown Asia. In a talk with reporters after the listing, President and Chief Executive Officer Benjamarie Therese N. Serrano said the company has allotted P9.4 billion for expansion. The expansion, she said, would cover land development, housing and expansion and land acquisitions. Of the amount, P2.2 billion would go to land development and P4 billion for housing and expansion. Another P3.2 billion would be for increasing its land bank from its current 1,460 hectares of land all over the country. "We intend to reassert ourselves in the local segment of the market especially now with availability of funds... we also want to get a bigger share of the market." USB Investment Bank Managing Director Lauro C. Baja III said the company raised another $11 million over the $535 million it earlier secured, but said market capital was $1.3 billion short. From the net proceeds, Ms. Serrano, said $5.2 billion would be used to payoff debt, while P2 billion from it would be used to launch five more condominium projects in the next two to three years. "With this offering, it will further cement our very strong leadership in the [home-building] industry," she said. In his speech, PSE President Francis Lim said the exchange was happy "Vista Land allowed to play a role in its expansion plan." "But as we in the PSE keep on telling newly listed companies — our congratulatory message should not be construed to mean that Vista Land’s transformation into a publicly traded corporation is the end in itself. It is only a means to a greater end," he said. Mr. Lim added that Vista Land will also be helpful in addressing the country’s acute housing shortage, unemployment problem and lack of business opportunities for small entrepreneurs. "In addressing these nagging problems, I believe Vista Land will assume a bigger role. With P15-billion fresh capital now in its coffers, Vista Land firms up its position to deliver more homes and build more buildings," he said. The company is hoping to have 3,500 booked units from of its brands and is aiming to sell 4,700 units this year. The company will also be opening residential projects in several areas in the provinces like Bicol, Pangasinan and Laoag, she added. "We also hope to tap inner city developments, more vertical projects especially in Makati and Bonifacio Global City," Ms. Serrano said. The firm is also eyeing small "community centers," or malls. "In all of the developments, we allocate a certain portion for the commercial essentially to service the communities we developed. Now with the proceeds, we intend to create our community centers, where we will have some retail shops, restaurants and service stores," Ms. Serrano said. She added that the company was also planning to build business process outsourcing (BPO) projects. "There are talks on going... we have actually started looking at properties outside of the central business districts. We have properties [in Sucat and Sta. Rosa] suitable for these kinds of development," she said. — Lovely Nica P. Lee/BusinessWorld