PETALING JAYA: KIP Real Estate Investment Trust (KIP REIT) registered a gross revenue of RM22.4 million for the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (Q1’24) which translated to a 15.6% increase compared with RM19.3 million in the preceding year’s corresponding quarter.
Net property income rose by 15.2%, year-on-year, to RM16.5 million. KIP REIT reported an 18.2% increase in realised profit after tax (PAT) to RM10.4 million. The income available for distribution for the quarter was 17.7% higher at RM10.7 million due to the improved PAT.
The higher PAT was a result of the contribution from its three industrial properties and higher occupancy rate for retail. The revenue split between the investment properties in the retail and industrial segment was 94.3% and 5.7% respectively.
For the retail segment, the Southern region remained as the highest revenue contributor to KIP REIT, whereby the three malls located in the region reported gross revenue of RM10.4 million or 49.5% of the total revenue. The Central region’s three malls recorded revenue of RM6.2 million or 29.3%. KIP REIT’s sole mall in the Northern region clocked in RM4.5 million or 21.2% of the total revenue.
KIP REIT CEO Valerie Ong Pui Shan said, “KIP REIT has kickstarted the new financial year on a strong footing. With occupancy rates of over 90% across many of our KIPMalls, this demonstrates our ability to attract the right mix of shoppers and tenants to our properties. The retail segment will remain as the primary engine of growth for KIP REIT.”
That said, she added that KIP REIT is on the lookout to enhance its industrial portfolio if the right opportunity arises.
Furthermore, she said, following its seventh annual general meeting in early October, it has obtained unitholders’ approval for the proposed acquisition of KIPMall Kota Warisan.
“We are looking forward to onboard our eighth retail asset into our portfolio. Notably, we are on track to complete our AEI (asset enhancement initiatives) at KIPMall Bangi this year. We will thereafter initiate AEI projects at other KIPMalls to ensure that both tenants and shoppers enjoy a pleasant shopping environment. The team is eager to deliver results and we are optimistic that we will be able to sustain our financial performance for the financial year 2024.”
The manager of KIP REIT has proposed a first income distribution of RM9.4 million, translating to 1.55 sen per unit. The book closure is fixed for Nov 3 and payment of the proposed income distribution will be made on Nov 23. Based on the closing price of RM0.895 on Oct 20, the trailing 12 months’ distribution per unit gives a yield of about 7.04%.
