KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 21): Axis-REIT’s net property income for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2020 rose 4.98% to RM50.26 million from RM47.87 million a year ago on higher overall trust income.

Total trust income came in 6.13% higher at RM57.17 million compared with RM53.86 million previously, according to the REIT’s filing with Bursa Malaysia.

It declared a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.25 sen — of which 1.84 sen is taxable and 0.41 sen is non-taxable — to be paid on Nov 30.  

This brings the total DPU in the first nine months of the year to 6.5 sen, versus 7.06 sen in the corresponding period last year.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Axis-REIT’s latest NPI is 7.25% higher than the RM46.86 million reported for the immediate preceding quarter.

For the cumulative nine-month period, the NPI rose 2% to RM147.41 million from RM144.52 million a year earlier.  

Total trust income for the nine months was up 3.46% to RM167.43 million from RM161.83 million previously.

Axis-REIT said: “The manager remains cautious of the current COVID-19 pandemic which has caused global economic downturn.  

“While the pandemic's impact on Axis-REIT's operations and financials have been manageable thus far, should the pandemic prolong or worsen unexpectedly this may impact Axis-REIT’s performance for the rest of the financial year.”

It added that the current gearing level of 32% provides headroom for the REIT to continue its yield accretive acquisition strategy should good opportunities come along.

Axis-REIT units finished 0.47% or a sen lower at RM2.11, valuing the group at RM3.04 billion. The counter saw 1.2 million shares traded.