Axis Reit’s Q3 net profit up 23.9% on higher income, lower expenses

PETALING JAYA: Axis Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Axis Reit) net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30 jumped 23.87% to RM32.39 million from RM26.15 million in the preceding year’s same quarter on higher property and investment income and lower non-property expenses.

Its revenue was RM57.17 million, 6.13% higher than RM53.86 million a year ago.

The total net asset value stood at RM2.14 billion and the net asset value per unit (before income distribution) was RM1.49.

For the nine months period, Axis Reit saw its net profit grow 13.45% to RM92.79 million from RM81.79 million, while revenue was up 3.46% to RM167.43 million from RM161.83 million in the same period last year.

A total of RM61.30 million was declared as the 2020 first and second interim income distribution which translated to 4.25 sen per unit, were paid on July 3 and Oct 2 respectively.

Axis-Reit has further set aside RM32.45 million (99% of total income available for distribution in respect of the period from July 1 to Sept 30) as the 2020 third interim income distribution which translates to 2.25 sen per unit payable on Nov 30.

It 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 ending Dec 31.

“During this challenging and uncertain time, the manager is actively managing the portfolio and exercising prudent capital management at all times in order for Axis-Reit to deliver sustainable earnings per unit and distribution per unit payout to unitholders.”