KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 18): AmanahRaya Real Estate Investment Trust (AmanahRaya REIT) saw its net property income (NPI) fall 7.9% to RM16.47 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 (4QFY21) from RM17.89 million a year earlier, due to lower occupancy rates.

Net realised income for the quarter rose by a marginal 1.6% to RM3.55 million from RM3.5 million in 4QFY20. This resulted in an improved earnings per unit of 0.6197 sen for 4QFY21 compared with 0.6102 sen for 4QFY20.

The REIT’s quarterly revenue fell 5.8% to RM21.26 million from RM22.57 million due to lower occupancy rate of its investment properties.

Property operating expenses for the quarter totalled RM4.79 million from RM4.68 million in 4QFY20.

It is proposing to distribute a second income dividend of 2.2136 sen per unit amounting to RM12.69 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21), payable on April 13.

For the 12-month period, the REIT’s NPI fell 6.7% to RM67.3 million from RM72.16 million in FY20.

It also reported smaller net realised income of RM30.44 million in FY21 compared with RM30.71 million in FY20, while revenue dropped 5.8% to RM86.25 million from RM91.52 million.

In a bourse filing on Friday (Feb 18), AmanahRaya said its gearing ratio stood at 44.99% in 4QFY21, up from last quarter's 44.85%, but still below the regulatory limit of 50%.

On prospects, AmanahRaya REIT said its manager AmanahRaya-KENEDIX REIT Manager Sdn Bhd is continuously ensuring the existing assets within the portfolio are well maintained to ensure the stability of rental income and the REIT benefits from capital appreciation.

“Apart from that, the manager is actively identifying good assets for new acquisitions to continuously improve the yield and further diversify the portfolio to minimise the sectoral risk.

“The strategy of having assets with long-term leases by reputable lessees will continue to be the focus of AmanahRaya REIT to ensure sustainable return,” it added.

AmanahRaya REIT units closed one sen or 0.74% lower at 67 sen on Friday, valuing the diversified REIT at RM384.06 million. Bloomberg data showed that the REIT has a dividend yield of 6.61% while trading at 0.52 times its book value.