CREIT income rises to P1.4 billion in 2023

MANILA, Philippines — Robust revenues driven by its green asset portfolio expansion boosted earnings of Citicore Energy REIT Corp. (CREIT) by 12 percent to P1.4 billion in 2023.

The country’s first and largest renewable energy real estate investment trust saw revenues in 2023 surge by 31 percent year-on-year to P1.8 billion on the back of a strong guaranteed base lease and new properties acquired during the year.

CREIT grew its landholdings by adding seven parcels of land totaling 5.12 million square meters of value accretive assets in 2023.

As a result, the green asset portfolio of the company has expanded by 4.3 times since its initial public offering in 2022.

Compared to the purely electricity sales at the onset of its operations, CREIT completed its second year as a full-fledged REIT company, generating largely resilient lease revenues.

CREIT said its assets were backed by 100 percent occupancy all year-round which ensured stable operations and earnings.

Its stable operations resulted in 2023 net income and EBITDA margins at 78 percent and 99 percent, respectively.

“The higher income we generated as a renewable energy REIT allows us to continuously increase value to our shareholders by declaring dividends beyond the mandated 90 percent of distributable income,” CREIT president and CEO Oliver Tan.

CREIT declared a full year 2023 total dividend of P0.199 per share, compared with P0.183 the prior year.

The company paid out 106 percent of its distributable income for the second consecutive year, well-above the required 90 percent stated in the REIT Law.

As the largest renewable energy REIT landlord in the country, CREIT has approximately 7.1 million square meters of gross leasable area.

Moving forward, the company is poised for further growth following the recent P5 billion investment of the Sy-led flagship holding firm SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) for a 28.79 percent stake in the company.

Proceeds from the sale will contribute to the further development of Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC)’s 1,583-megawatt ready-to-build and under construction solar power projects across eight site locations nationwide.

The expansion is expected to fuel the growth of CREIT’s property assets, being CREC’s primary landlord.

“We believe SMIC’s investment is a vote of confidence in CREIT’s prospects and CREC’s business model. As a trusted partner, we remain committed to further build on our green asset portfolio, anchored on CREC’s plan to pursue its five gigawatts growth pipeline in the next five years,” Tan said.