MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Land’s real estate investment trust AREIT Inc. (AREIT) posted a net income of P403 million in the first quarter, 60 percent higher than last year.
This was driven by stable operations and the contribution of newly-acquired assets, the company said in a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange.
AREIT president and CEO Carol Mills said AREIT’s first quarter performance was marked by significant growth and business resilience.
“This is driven by the quality and stability of our properties, as well as the addition of new assets to our portfolio. Our focus is to ensure that our business operations are optimized and that the company is positioned for growth,” Mills said.
Mills said AREIT’s expansion would continue with the increase in its capital stock expected to be completed in the second half.
AREIT’s authorized capital stock will increase to P29.5 billion from P11.7 billion, along with the infusion of P15.5 billion worth of commercial assets from Ayala Land in exchange for 483 million shares.
The transaction will grow AREIT’s gross leasable space to 549,000 square meters and assets under management to P52 billion.
Last January, AREIT acquired The 30th, a 75,000-square meter (sqm) commercial development located in Pasig City and 98,000 sqm of land located at Laguna Technopark currently leased by Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. for its manufacturing business.
Along with the acquisition of the Teleperformance Cebu building last October 2020, these properties boosted AREIT’s first quarter income and increased its gross leasable space to 344,000 sqm and assets under management to P37 billion.
AREIT closed the quarter with a net gearing of 0.35:1, maintaining a strong balance sheet to support its future growth plans.