AREIT Profit Rises 19% To ₱2.9-B

AREIT, Inc. (AREIT), the real estate investment trust sponsored by Ayala Land Inc., posted a 19% growth in net income to P2.9 billion last year from P2.43 billion in 2021.

Photo Insert: AREIT received the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval last December 2022 for the property-for-share swap with Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), in exchange for six Cebu-based office buildings, particularly eBloc Towers 1 to 4 located at Cebu IT Park, ACC Tower and Tech Tower located at Ayala Center Cebu.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said this is inclusive of a drop in net fair value in investment properties of P549 million on account of the higher interest rate environment.

Excluding the negative change in net fair in investment properties, net income registered at P3.4 billion, 55% higher year-on-year.

AREIT recorded revenues of P5.1 billion and Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) of P3.6 billion in 2022, 53% and 52% higher year-on-year, respectively, because of stable operations with a 98% occupancy and strong collection performance.

On Feb. 24, 2023, AREIT’s board of directors approved the declaration of dividends of P0.52 per share for the fourth quarter of 2022 to be distributed on March 24, 2023, to stockholders on record as of March 10, 2023.

The P0.52 per share is 6,0% higher than the previous quarter’s dividends of P0.49 per share because of the addition of the Cebu assets in the fourth quarter. Furthermore, the company’s full-year dividends from its 2022 income totaled P1.98 per share, a 12% increase from 2021.

AREIT received the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval last December 2022 for the property-for-share swap with Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), in exchange for six Cebu-based office buildings, particularly eBloc Towers 1 to 4 located at Cebu IT Park, ACC Tower and Tech Tower located at Ayala Center Cebu.

The recognition of income from these new assets accrued beginning Oct. 01, 2022, capping the year with a total GLA of 673 thousand sqm from 549 thousand sqm and Assets Under Management (AUM) of P64 billion from P53 billion in 2021.

With the recently concluded acquisition, AREIT outperformed its target to reach P60 billion in AUM by 2022 but maintains its aspiration to further grow its asset portfolio at an average of 100,000 sqm of GLA from 2023 to 2025, translating to an increase of P10-15 billion in its AUM annually during the period.

The company maintains its thrust to grow and diversify its asset portfolio by sector, location, and income contribution and achieve a total shareholder return range of 10-12 percent. The company has a solid balance sheet with a net gearing of 0.05:1.

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