AREIT income jumps to P3.4 B in 2022

AREIT Inc. (AREIT), the pioneering real estate investment trust (REIT) of the Ayala Group, reported a net income of P3.4 billion in 2022, 55 percent higher year-on-year.

This excludes the net fair value change in investment properties, which amounted to a reduction of P549 million due to the higher interest rate environment.

The company raked in P5.1 billion in revenues and EBITDA of P3.6 billion last year, up 53 percent and 52 percent, respectively, on the back of “stable operations with a 98 percent occupancy and strong collection performance.”

AREIT declared 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. This is six percent higher than the previous quarter’s dividends of P0.49 per share because of the addition of the Cebu assets in the fourth quarter.

The company’s full-year dividends from its 2022 income reached P1.98 per share, a 12 percent increase from 2021.

AREIT plans to further grow its asset portfolio at an average of 100,000 square meters of gross leasable area from 2023 to 2025, translating to an increase of P10 to 15 billion in its assets under management or AUM annually during the period.

The company aims to achieve a total shareholder return range of 10 percent to 12 percent.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved AREIT’s property-forshare swap with its sponsor Ayala Land

Inc. (ALI), in exchange for six Cebu-based office buildings.

These buildings are 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 673,000 sqm from 549,000 sqm and AUM of P64 billion from P53 billion in 2021, above the target of P60 billion.

AREIT became the first Philippine REIT included in the FTSE EPRA Nareit Asia ex-Japan REITs 10 percent capped Index in 2021.

It is likewise a member of the MSCI Philippine Small Cap Index, the FTSE Small Cap Index and the Philippine Property Index.