KUALA LUMPUR: UOA Real Estate Investment Trust (UOA REIT) registered a drop of 12.65% in its net profit to RM6.6 million in its second quarter ended June 30, 2010 (2QFY2010) from RM7.6 million a year earlier, on lower revenue.

Its revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% to RM10.79 million, from RM11.28 million the previous year. The total income of RM10.79 million was inclusive of interest income and other income of RM3,519 and RM24,406 respectively.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia on Thursday, July 22, its manager UOA Asset Management Sdn Bhd said that total expenditure for the quarter amounted to RM4.2 million, with RM2.4 million attributable to property operating expenses and RM1.8 million attributable to non-property operating expenses.

"Taking into consideration a 95% distribution, the trust has set aside RM6,283,822 as provision for income distribution," it added.

The manager also expects the occupancy and tenancy rates of the properties to sustain for the remaining part of the year, and that it will continue to adopt an active operating and capital management strategy to enhance the yields and returns of the existing property parcels.

"Rental income is anticipated to improve gradually in the second half of the year due to the delayed effects of the recovering economy. The manager will further seek opportunities to acquire real estate that meet the objectives of the trust," it noted.

The trust's earnings per share for the quarter was 2.68 sen, down from 3.07 sen the previous year. It proposed a dividend of 2.55 sen per unit and includes a non-taxable portion of approximately 0.47 sen per unit (representing 18.43% of the gross distribution) derived mainly from utilisation of capital allowances.
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