Citicore Energy REIT posted 18% profit growth in Q1

MANILA, Philippines  — Tycoon Edgar Saavedra’s Citicore Energy REIT Corp. (CREIT) booked a net income of P359.28 million in the first quarter of this year, up by 18 percent, as it gained from its newly acquired properties.

In a disclosure on Tuesday, CREIT said its newly acquired parcels of land in Batangas, Pampanga, and Pangasinan provinces under its green asset portfolio spurred the rise in earnings.

These properties in Tuy town in Batangas province; Arayat and Magalang towns in Pampanga, and Pangasinan province have a total land area of 5.12 million square meters.

“We have remained consistent in providing investors a sustainable and attractive dividend-paying REIT instrument from recurring but growing lease revenues, with asset acquisition in support of Citicore Renewables’ project pipeline,” CREIT President and CEO Oliver Tan said.

READ: Citicore raises P5B from share sale to SM Investments

Revenues during the quarter climbed by 26 percent to P472.84 million as proceeds from its P4.5 billion green bond issuance were utilized for acquiring the properties, which were then leased out to the new projects currently under construction.

Growth roadmap

CREIT said this “solidified” its position as the “largest REIT landlord” for renewable energy developers and operators, having 7.16 million square meters of gross leasable area.

“This also demonstrates the resiliency of our REIT investment strategy to keep on adding value-accretive assets, effectively CREIT mirroring the growth roadmap of its sponsor CREC,” he added.

READ: CREIT earnings jumped 12% last year as portfolio grew

Meanwhile, the company’s other operating expenses declined by 31 percent to P2.29 million while finance costs soared by 73 percent to P86.1 million due to the coupon payments and accrual of the green bond issuance.

CREIT declared dividends for the first quarter on May 13 amounting to P0.049 per share, 4 percent higher from a year ago. This translates to an annualized yield of 7 percent, based on the May 10 closing price of P2.82 apiece.

CREIT is the real estate investment trust arm of the Citicore Power Group. It is backed by RE developer Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC), which has more than 5 gigawatts of project pipeline in varying stages of development with its 1 GW well underway.

In March this year, conglomerate SM Investments Corp. acquired a 28.79 percent interest in CREIT for P5 billion.