MQREIT posts RM22m profit on higher rental income

KUALA LUMPUR: MRCB-Quill Real Estate Investment Trust (MQREIT) registered a net profit of RM22.04 million in the second quarter ended June, which is 43.2 per cent higher than RM15.39 million a year ago.

MRCB Quill Management Sdn Bhd, the manager of MQREIT, said the higher net income was due to from rental hikes at several properties as well as the recognition of income from Menara Shell.

After deducting higher finance costs and the manager’s fee, MQREIT’s property income saw a 35.8 per cent increment quarter-on-quarter. With the book closure date being August 28, MQREIT’s distribution per unit of 4.23 sen is expected to be executed on September 18.

MQREIT highlighted that the office market was expected to remain challenging due to the slowdown of global and domestic economies, low global crude oil prices and the lack of catalysts to boost demand.

“While we expect take-up rates in the Klang Valley to be soft, we are working hard to step up our leasing efforts to ensure the performance of MQREIT’s portfolio remains stable in 2017,” it said.

MQREIT has a healthy balance sheet with an aggregate gearing of 37 per cent, which is well below the Securities Commission Malaysia’s regulatory limit of 50 per cent.

Its cost of debt was stable at an average of 4.4 per cent per annum as at June. This year, MQREIT has no refinancing requirements.