Filinvest REIT Corp. (FILRT), the Gotianun Group’s real estate investment trust, reported a 19 percent drop in unaudited net income to P1.05 billion last year from P1.3 billion in 2022.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the firm said that excluding the net fair value change in investment properties, FILRT posted a net income of P1.28 billion on the back of rental and other revenues of P3 billion—lower by 7.4 percent from the P3.44 billion posted in 2022.
FILRT ended 2023 with an average occupancy of 83 percent, which is better than market occupancy of 81 percent as reported by Colliers in its fourth quarter 2023 Office market report.
As of end-December 2023, FILRT successfully signed new leases totaling 20,139 square meters, including 2,630 square meters in the fourth quarter of 2023 coming from the expansion of two BPO companies.
This also includes 4,512 square meters of new traditional tenants, reinforcing FILRT’s strategy of diversifying its tenant base.
The size of new leases in 2023 is almost a fourfold improvement from the signed 5,087 square meters of new leases in 2022. New leases were closed at higher rates against current transacted rates in the Alabang area based on the Colliers report.
In terms of tenant retention, 31,835 square meters, or 77 percent of 41,110 sqm of expiring leases in 2023 were renewed.
For 2023, the WALE has improved significantly as renewals and new leases for the year have set in and the addition of Crimson Boracay pushed the WALE to 6.91 years. The Crimson Boracay lot, which comprises nine percent of the total GLA, has a 40-year lease.
As part of its strategies, FILRT has been deliberate in diversifying its tenant mix with the addition of traditional tenants and co-working locators.
Current tenant mix is comprised of 78 percent multinational BPO companies, 11 percent traditional office and co-working, 11 percent hospitality, and the small remainder taken up by retail tenants. FILRT has zero POGO exposure.
“The new leases that we have in 2024 have been encouraging and we are optimistic that leasing activities will improve further in the second half of the year,” said FILRT President and CEO Maricel Brion-Lirio.
She noted that “despite some challenges in the market conditions, we remain committed to expanding our portfolio and steadfast in our goal to significantly increase dividends for our shareholders in the long term.”
FILRT’s Board of Directors has approved the dividend declaration to all stockholders amounting to P0.067 per outstanding common share. The cash dividends will be payable on March 26, 2024 to stockholders on record as of March 11, 2024.
This first quarterly cash dividend declaration for the year translates to an annualized yield of 8.3 percent based on the previous trading day’s closing price of P3.23 per share.
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The article was originally published in Manila Bulletin and written by James A. Loyola.
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