BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The MREIT, Inc., a company designated by Megaworld to operate as a Real Estate Investment Trust, reported net income of P2-billion for the six-month period ending December last year, inclusive of a fair value gain on MREIT’s investment properties of P702 million.
Meanwhile, the company’s revenues for the same period registered at P1.5-billion, the Megaworld said in its issued press statement.
Fourth quarter revenue grew by 5 percent quarter-on-quarter to P749.5-million due to a similar growth in rental income resulting from the implementation of new leases as well as the initial contribution of four properties that the company acquired last December, it added.
Owing to the strong performance of MREIT, the company’s Board declared dividends amounting to P0.24 per share for the fourth quarter of 2021 on March 4, 2022.
This compares favorably to the dividends declared by the company for the previous quarter of P0.24 per share, which included a bonus dividend equivalent of P0.05 for income generated by the company in June when it started operations.
Total dividends paid by MREIT for 2021 now stands at P0.48 per share. As of the close of trading last week, MREIT’s total shareholder return since IPO stood at 25 percent. The dividends shall be payable on March 31, 2022 to shareholders on record as of March 18, 2022.
Last December, MREIT acquired four income-generating properties with sponsor Megaworld for a total consideration of P9.1-billion. This resulted in a 25 percent increase in its MREIT’s portfolio gross leasable area (GLA) to 280,000 square meters (sq.m.) and a 19 percent growth in its portfolio value to P58.5-billion.
“We are pleased with the accomplishments of MREIT to date and are thankful for all the support that we have received from our shareholders, as evidenced by the strong performance of MREIT shares in the bourse. We aim to build on this momentum as we embark on our expanded acquisition plan this year,” said Kevin L. Tan, president and CEO, MREIT, Inc.
MREIT recently announced that it is looking to acquire up to P20.0-billion worth of office assets in 2022, thus potentially exceeding its earlier target of growing its portfolio GLA to around 324,000 sq.m. by the end of the year.
“We are looking to reach our target portfolio GLA of 500,000 sq.m. earlier by the end of 2023 and achieve an annual total shareholder return of at least 10 percent via organic growth and new acquisitions. We also want to look at opportunities to expand our portfolio footprint to Megaworld’s other townships. Our enhanced pipeline will help us deliver on these targets,” Tan added.
MREIT plans to eventually expand its portfolio GLA to 1-million sq.m. before the end of the decade. Backed by its access to Megaworld’s extensive office portfolio, MREIT aspires to be one of the largest office REITs in Southeast Asia because of the company’s long runway for growth.*
