MANILA, Philippines —AREIT Inc., the real estate investment trust arm of property giant Ayala Land Inc., saw a 43-percent profit spike to P4.93 billion in 2023 after taking over new assets, including shopping centers and offices in the Makati central business district.
In a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, AREIT said revenues also rose 41 percent to about P7 billion while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization—an indicator of profitability—expanded by 39 percent to P5 billion.
The country’s first REIT company said earnings were lifted by the acquisition of One Ayala Avenue East and West Towers at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Edsa, Glorietta 1 and 2 Mall and business process outsourcing buildings at Ayala Center, and MarQuee Mall in Angeles, Pampanga.
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AREIT’s properties had a 97 percent average occupancy rate last year, which was higher than the industry average.
The company also outlined new expansion for plans for the year.
This includes the recently-approved P28.6 billion deal to acquire Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2, luxury mall Greenbelt wings 3 and 5 and Holiday Inn and Suites in Makati, as well as Seda Hotel at Ayala Center Cebu from Ayala Land. It will also acquire a 276-hectare industrial estate in Zambales province in Luzon from affiliate ACEN Corp.
Portfolio expansion
Separately, AREIT acquired the SEDA Lio in El Nido, Palawan, from Ayala Land subsidiary Econorth Resort Ventures Inc. for P1.19 billion last Jan. 17.
“Our growth initiatives will benefit AREIT–profoundly enlarging the portfolio further, diversifying the assets, reducing concentration risk, and most importantly, providing our shareholder’s dividend accretion,” Carol T. Mills, AREIT president and CEO, said in a statement on Tuesday.
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“This is a testament that AREIT, led by its sponsor Ayala Land, is an integral vehicle for capital recycling and growth, and we remain steadfast in attaining our vision of being the leading and most diversified Philippine REIT,” she added.
On Monday, AREIT’s board approved the declaration of cash dividends of P0.55 per common share for the fourth quarter of 2023. The dividends are payable on March 20 to shareholders on record as of March 4 this year.
This latest quarterly dividend brought AREIT’s annual dividend-per-share to P2.15 for 2023, an increase of 8.6 percent over the previous year.