MREIT declares P682.7M net income in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — Megaworld Inc.'s real estate investment trust firm reported a P687.2 million net income in the first quarter of 2022, due in part to its portfolio expansion efforts as it scooped up properties by the end of last year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, MREIT reported revenues landed at P901.6 million in the first three months of 2022, with distributable income surging 18% to P639 million on a quarterly basis.

The REIT firm of the property giant was unfazed by the pandemic-induced economic downturn, as it completed the acquisition of four properties, acquiring a value worth P9.1 billion in December 2021. This move boosted MREIT's gross leasable area by 25% to 224,000 square meters since its stock market debut in August last year.

By March, MREIT's fortunes improved and its portfolio was worth P59.3 billion.

“Our solid performance in the first quarter of 2022 affirms our efforts to sustain MREIT’s growth via a combination of organic and inorganic means. The combination of rent escalation, steady occupancy, and implementation of our acquisition plans puts us on track to deliver on our targeted returns for our shareholders in 2022,” Kevin Tan, company president and CEO, said.

The REIT company’s impressive financial performance, in turn, allowed it to reward investors. MREIT declared dividends of P0.243 per share based on its first-quarter income, which the firm hopes to increase to P1 dividend per share by the end of 2022. If realized, the dividends would be higher than the originally-stated 6% in its earlier plan.

Likewise, MREIT is looking to close the deal on a property-for-share swap with its parent company this month to acquire four properties worth P5.3 billion, that will expand the GLA of its portfolio to 325,000 square meters.

MREIT noted that the deal will enable its portfolio to cover 18 office properties in four of Megaworld's townships.