GEORGE TOWN (July 22): MRCB-Quill Real Estate Investment Trust (MRCB-Quill REIT) posted a 59.22% rise in its realised net income in its second quarter ended June 30, 2015 (2QFY15) from RM8.56 million in the corresponding period last year, primarily due the recognition of income contribution from the newly acquired Platinum Sentral for the full quarter.

MRCB-Quill REIT's (fundmental: 0.05; valuation: 1.2) distribution per unit (DPU) for the quarter under review was 2.22 sen — up 10.4% from 2QFY14’s 2.01 sen — which the REIT will be distributing on Aug 28 (ex date: Aug 4), according to its filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

Its realised net income for the half year ended June 30 (1HFY15) increased to RM21.91 million, up 31% from RM16.72 million in 1HFY14.

This brings its annualised 1HFY15 DPU to 4.1 sen, which is the same as the previous corresponding period’s.

Gross revenue for 2QFY15 came in 85.5% higher at RM32.18 million from RM17.35 million, while its 1HFY15 revenue stood at RM50.79 million, up 47.1% from RM34.53 million in 1HFY14.

In a separate statement, the REIT’s manager MRCB Quill Management Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Yong Su-Lin said the annualised 1HFY15 DPU translated to a yield of 7% based on MQREIT’s closing price of RM1.17 on June 30.

She said the REIT has achieved a stable performance amidst an increasingly challenging office market environment on the back of weakening business and consumer sentiment.

“We will continue to actively look for acquisition opportunities as part of our growth strategy, to enhance unitholder value,” she added.

She pointed out that from the leasing perspective, the REIT managed to renew 94% of leases due for renewal in 1HFY15 despite challenges in the office market sector where there was a growing supply of space in Klang Valley.

“As at June 30, our average occupancy rate is resilient at 93% in terms of non-leaseable area vis-à-vis the average office market occupancy of 85.2% for Kuala Lumpur City,” she said.

Its units closed unchanged at RM1.17, giving it a market capitalisation of RM773.82 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)