Filinvest REIT Declares Dividends

Filinvest REIT Corp. (FILRT) declared its third quarterly cash dividend, bringing its total dividends to ₱0.336 per share equivalent to an annualized dividend yield of 6.4%. This is higher than the 6.3% dividend yield it projected for 2021 in its REIT Plan and based on its initial public offering (IPO) price of ₱7.00 per share.

Photo Insert: FILRT’s Sponsor, Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), is fully committed to grow the REIT portfolio with regular asset infusions.

On February 15, 2022, the Board of Directors of FILRT approved the dividend declaration to all stockholders in the amount of ₱0.112 per outstanding common share. The cash dividends will be payable on March 20, 2022, to stockholders on record as of March 2, 2022.

The amount is equivalent to a quarterly yield of 1.6%. FILRT distributed its previous two quarterly cash dividends of ₱0.112 per outstanding common share per declaration in September and November last year.

“The declaration of quarterly cash dividends is our continuing commitment to our valued shareholders. It is compliant with the minimum dividend payout as required by the REIT Act and fulfills what we set forth in our REIT Plan,” said FILRT president and chief executive officer Maricel Brion-Lirio.

FILRT’s property portfolio at present consists of 17 Grade A office buildings totaling over 300,000 square meters of gross leasable area (GLA) valued by an independent appraisal company at ₱48.5 billion. Of these, 16 of the 17 buildings are in Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest City in Alabang, a PEZA Special Economic Zone and IT park while another building is located in the gateway of Cebu IT Park in Lahug, Cebu City.

FILRT’s Sponsor, Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), is fully committed to grow the REIT portfolio with regular asset infusions. In its three-year investment plan submitted to the PSE and the Securities and

Exchange Commission in December 2021, FILRT’s fund management company signified that it will constantly endeavor to expand the portfolio and provide a stable and competitive return to investors, with focus on dividend yield protection.

To date, a pipeline of possible commercial projects has been identified for potential asset infusion as announced by FLI. There are two office buildings totaling almost 70,000 square meters in gross leasable area (GLA) that may potentially be added within the year.

Part of FILRT’s investment policy is to invest in properties that have sustainability features to align with FILRT’s differentiation as a “green” or sustainability-themed REIT. Its current portfolio includes two LEED Gold-certified office buildings and 16 buildings are in Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest City in Alabang, the first central business district in the country and the largest in Southeast Asia to receive Gold Certification from LEED® v4 for Neighborhood Development Plan.

The buildings are cooled by the country’s largest district cooling system that reduces carbon emissions and energy consumption, the result of Filinvest’s partnership with Engie, a world leader in developing sustainable technology solutions.

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