Al-Aqar REIT’s 3Q net income falls on lower net income from Australia segment

• Earnings per unit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3QFY2023) declined to 2.18 sen from 2.39 sen, the REIT said in its filing on Friday.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 24): Al-Aqar Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Al-Aqar REIT) net income for the third quarter fell marginally to RM17.59 million from RM17.62 million in the same period last year, on lower net rental from its Australia segment due to higher professional fees.

Earnings per unit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3QFY2023) declined to 2.18 sen from 2.39 sen, the REIT said in its filing on Friday.

Quarterly net rental income, however, increased 2.27% to RM30.79 million, from RM27.42 million in 3QFY2022, on the back of a 13% rise in the Malaysia segment's contribution to RM27.7 million from RM24.5 million.

Al-Aqar REIT declared a third interim income distribution of two sen per unit, payable on Dec 27, bringing the total dividend declared year-to-date to 5.9 sen per unit.

For the first nine months of FY2023, net income declined 8.63% to RM50.18 million from RM54.91 million in the same period last year, while net rental income rose 10.25% to RM90.39 million from RM81.98 million.

Al-Aqar REIT’s manager, Damansara REIT Managers Sdn Bhd, said it does not expect any disruption to the REIT's earnings as the earnings are underpinned by the long-term lease arrangements with KPJ Group, following the acquisition of KPJ's properties worth RM192 million last year.

“In ensuring a positive growth of distribution to the unitholder, while maintaining ongoing long-term lease arrangements with KPJ Group, the fund has and will continue to engage in various corporate exercises,” it said.

At 3.42pm, the price of Al-Aqar REIT units was unchanged at RM1.24, giving a market value of RM1.04 billion.

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