KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) reported a 52% year-on-year jump in net profit to RM357.91 million for the fourth financial quarter ended June 30, 2015 (4QFY15), from RM235.21 million, on improved performance in its retail segment.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Sunway REIT declared a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.05 sen for 4QFY15 (payable on Sept 10), totalling 8.73 sen per unit for the full FY15, exceeding analysts’ consensus DPU of 8.7 sen.

The DPU of 8.7 sen translates into a distribution yield of 5.7%, based on Sunway REIT’s market closing price of RM1.54 as at June 30.

The REIT’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% to RM114.94 million from RM109.22 million a year ago, mainly due to robust growth in its retail segment.

Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Jeffrey Ng said FY15 was a challenging but fulfilling year for the group.

“I am pleased to share that we have completed our largest asset enhancement initiatives to date, and saw the reopening of Sunway Putra Mall in May 2015,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He said with a portfolio value of RM6.32 billion, the REIT is on track to achieve its target of above RM7 billion in property value by FY17.

Meanwhile, its full FY15 net profit rose 31.7% to RM541.44 million from RM411.12 million for FY14, mainly on fair value gains.

The REIT reported a 6% increase in FY15 revenue to RM453.45 million from RM427.79 million for the preceding financial year, on the back of a double-digit growth in the retail segment.

Net property income for FY15 grew 6.2% to RM340.8 million.

Property value surpassed the RM6 billion mark to RM6.32 billion as at June 30, up 14.6% from RM5.52 billion a year ago, due to acquisition, capital expenditure and fair value gains.

As such, net asset value per share (after income distribution) expanded correspondingly to RM1.3350 from RM1.2390 a year ago.

Sunway REIT’s (fundamental: 1; valuation: 0.65) share price dropped 0.65% to RM1.53 yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM4.49 billion.

This article first appeared in digitaledge Daily, on August 12, 2015.