Update Sunway REIT 4Q profit rises 2.7% to RM235.2m, proposes 2.03 sen payout

by **Cals** Mon 11 Aug 2014, 23:04

Update Sunway REIT 4Q profit rises 2.7% to RM235.2m, proposes 2.03 sen payout

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Jeffrey Tan of theedgemalaysia.com

Monday, 11 August 2014 19:17

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust’s (SunREIT) net profit rose 2.7% to RM235.2 million for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2014, from RM228.9 million for the previous corresponding period.

Revenue for the April to June period rose 5.1% to RM109.2 million, from RM103.9 million a year ago.

The country’s largest REIT proposed a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.03 sen for the fourth quarter.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, SunREIT said its net property income grew at a slower pace of 0.4%, attributable to a 19.7% increase in property operating expenses.

The higher property operating expenses came on higher electricity tariff, higher maintenance cost and provision for higher assessment tax for Kuala Lumpur properties.

The property trust said the larger revenue was registered despite a 41.9% decline in revenue contribution from Sunway Putra Place due to on-going major refurbishment works.

For the full-year period, SunREIT’s net profit stood at RM411.1 million versus RM392.3 million for the previous year, while revenue rose to RM427.8 million from RM415.9 million a year ago.

SunREIT said it managed to fully mitigate the lost/reduced income contribution from Sunway Putra Place and rising operating costs.

It said this was mainly attributable to the resilient growth of Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall and Sunway Carnival Shopping Mall as well as full year contribution from Sunway Medical Centre.

Datuk Jeffrey Ng, CEO of Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd, said: “For the coming financial year, we expect DPU to grow moderately in FY15 with the re-opening of Sunway Putra Mall in the third quarter next year.”

Ng added that SunREIT would continue to ensure that the RM460 million asset enhancement initiative plan for Sunway Putra Place is completed within the timeline, budget and quality.