Axis REIT 4Q net income up 6.27%, declares 2.1 sen distribution

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 19): Axis Real Estate Investment Trust’s (REIT) realised net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2016 (4QFY2016) came in at RM23.1 million, an increase of 6.27% year-on-year from RM21.8 million.

It has proposed a distribution per unit of 2.1 sen, an increase of 0.1 sen from two sen in 4QFY2015.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Axis REIT said the distribution of 2.1 sen represents about 99.94% of its 4QFY2016’s realised income available for distribution. The distribution will go ex on Jan 31 and is payable on Feb 28.

Net profit for the quarter rose 43.2% to RM24.3 million from RM17 million in 4QFY2015, in line with an increase of 5.95% in revenue to RM42.4 million from RM40 million.

For the full FY2016, Axis REIT’s realised net income was RM90.2 million, slightly lower than the RM91.5 million reported for FY2015. Net profit rose 26.6% to RM122.3 million from RM96.6 million, while revenue grew 2.16% to RM167.4 million from RM163.8 million.

The REIT said its manager is optimistic that it will be able to maintain its current performance for FY2017 in view of the satisfactory performance of its existing investment portfolio and its growth strategy to actively pursue quality acquisitions.

The REIT has acquired one property, Scomi Facility in Rawang, raising its portfolio size from 38 to 39 properties as at Dec 31, 2016.

Axis REIT’s share price rose 0.61% to RM1.65 yesterday. It has seen an increase of 2.48% year to date and 9.66% compared with a year ago. Its market capitalisation is RM1.82 billion.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Jan 19, 2017. Subscribe to The Edge Financial Daily here.