MANILA, Philippines — Vista Land and Lifescapes, the country’s top housing developer, is allotting P1.5 billion for a share buyback program over the next 24 months.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said the program has been approved by its board of directors although details such as timing and volume of share purchases will be left to the discretion of management.

Company officials said the firm decided to undertake the buyback program because it believes its shares are currently undervalued.

This is the second buyback program of Vista Land since its backdoor listing via C&P Homes. In 2007, the firm allotted $ 25 million to buy back around 210 million shares or 2.5 percent of its outstanding capital at around P5.00 per share.

Vista Land recently reported that it posted record sales of over 5,000 units in the first four months of 2011 more than half of the 9,500 units registered for the entire 2010.

The firm said sales consist mostly of house and lot packages with its popular housing brand Camella continuing to account for the biggest chunk of its sales.

“Sales take-up for our house and lot products shows we are treading in the right direction in hitting the P24 billion target for the year,” said Vista Land chief finance officer Paolo A. Villar. The firm recorded P20 billion sales last year.

At least 70 percent of Vista Land’s sales come from a split between Camella Mega Manila (Metro Manila, Cavite and Laguna) and Camella Regions (Luzon, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao), with the rest of the brands, upper-mid Crown Asia, high-end Brittany and vertical group, Vista Residences completing the 30 percent.

Vista Land president Benjamarie N. Serrano said the figures show that Vista Land is the clear leader in the industry, from the affordable to the middle-income sections of the house and lot segment.

She noted that Vista Land outsells all six other listed industry players with sales double that of the six developers combined. The performance of Vista Land, particularly the Camella brand, is because it has remained the most preferred developer in its segment over the years as it continues to enjoy the trust of Filipino families.

This is confirmed by a study conducted by Philippine Survey and Research Center (PSRC), the leading independent Filipino research agency. (JAL)

-MB.com.ph