AME REIT declares 1.82 sen distribution per unit for 4Q23

• It was the second distribution whereby AME REIT distributed 100% of the quarter’s distributable income to its unitholders. For 4Q23, AME REIT’s distributable income was RM9.5 million, which was higher than the RM9.21 million in the preceding quarter ended Dec 31, 2022.

PETALING JAYA (April 20): Industrial properties real estate investment trust (REIT) AME REIT has declared its second income distribution per unit since listing, of 1.82 sen per unit, for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2023 (4Q23).

It was the second distribution whereby AME REIT distributed 100% of the quarter’s distributable income to its unitholders. For 4Q23, AME REIT’s distributable income was RM9.5 million, which was higher than the RM9.21 million in the preceding quarter ended Dec 31, 2022.

The second distribution is payable on May 30, 2023 to unitholders whose names appear in the Record of Depositors of AME REIT at the close of business on May 10, 2023.

Chan Wai Leo, CEO and executive director of I REIT Managers Sdn Bhd, the management company of AME REIT said in a press statement accompanying the announcement that he is optimistic about the REIT’s prospects in the upcoming financial year, given the robust demand for industrial properties.

“We have elected to distribute 100% of this quarter’s distributable income as a gesture of appreciation to AME REIT’s unitholders for investing with us at the early stage of what will be an exciting journey of growth.

“We are buoyant of the upcoming financial year, as AME REIT not only successfully secured new leases on all three tenancies that expired during the financial period ended 31 March 2023, but also at higher rates than the former leases.

“Moreover, we will incorporate new rental income from two newly acquired properties which have existing lease arrangements for a tenure of 10 years with an option to renew for a further three to five years,” said Chan in the statement.

AME REIT recorded net property income (NPI) of RM10.2 million in 4Q23, on revenue of RM10.8 million. The quarter under review also saw RM38.1 million in fair value gain on investment properties resulting in net income after tax of RM43.2 million.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, AME REIT’s NPI was about the same with the preceding quarter’s NPI of RM10.1 million. The REIT’s revenue also remained at the same level as the RM10.8 million revenue recorded in the preceding quarter.

After adjustments for the fair value gain net of its deferred tax expenses, in addition to unbilled lease income receivables and others, distributable income came in at RM9.5 million.

For the financial period from Sept 20, 2022 to March 31, 2023, AME REIT recorded an NPI of RM21.5 million on revenue of RM22.9 million while the distributable income during this period was RM19.8 million.

During the quarter, AME REIT acquired two industrial properties namely Plot 15 Indahpura and Plot 43 SAC, which expanded its portfolio to 36 properties. The acquisition of a third property, Plot 16 Indahpura, is pending the completion of construction, with the Certificate of Completion and Compliance expected to be issued by the third quarter of 2023.

The total acquisition cost of the three properties is RM69.3 million.

AME REIT’s properties are mainly situated across three AME Group industrial parks in Iskandar Malaysia, namely i-Park @ Indahpura in Kulai, the i-Park @ Senai Airport City in Senai and i-Park @ SILC in Iskandar Puteri.

Its current portfolio has a combined agreed lettable area of 1.8 million sq ft with multinational corporations occupying approximately 91% of the net lettable area.

AME REIT closed at RM1.18 on Thursday, with a market value of RM614.66 million. At the price of RM1.18 and the combined income distribution per unit of 3.8 sen so far, AME REIT has a income distribution yield of 3.22%.