Filinvest REIT Corp. Declares Dividends for 4Q 2024

The Board of Directors of Filinvest REIT Corp. (FILRT), in a meeting held on November 6, 2024, approved the dividend declaration to all stockholders amounting to P0.062 per outstanding common share.

This declaration is the same level as the previous quarter, with dividends declared this year totaling P0.253 per outstanding common share. The year-to-date dividends are equivalent to an annualized yield of 8.3 percent based on the closing share price on November 5, 2024. The latest cash dividends will be payable on December 6, 2024 to all stockholders on record as of November 20, 2024.
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FILRT recorded revenues of P2.1 billion in the first nine months of the year, a reduction of 7 percent from the same period in 2023, mainly due to the temporary drop in occupancy in the first quarter brought about by the rightsizing of some tenants because of the hybrid work alternative. This was partially offset by the 3 percent drop in cost and expenses to P953 million with the continued prudence in managing the company’s resources. FILRT registered a net income of P894 million in the first nine months of 2024.

The company’s portfolio of 17 office buildings and one resort lot totaling 330,448 square meters had occupancy of 83 percent as of end-September 2024 which is the same level as of the end of 2023. FILRT has been proactively rebuilding its portfolio’s occupancy and diversifying its tenant base by signing new traditional companies to replace the BPO tenants that have downsized due to the shift to work-from-home or hybrid set-ups of its employees.

“We are happy to note that we have been able to recover the occupancy we lost at the start of the year. We are now focusing our efforts in signing up more new tenants as we endeavor to further improve FILRT’s occupancy,” said Ms. Maricel Brion-Lirio, President and CEO of FILRT. “Aside from tenant diversification, we are also mindful that we have well spread-out lease expiries to provide stability in our income generation,” she added. WALE of the portfolio is 7.4 years.

FILRT remained ahead of competition in Alabang where 16 of the 17 buildings are located. FILRT registered higher occupancy than Alabang market occupancy of 71 percent as reported by Colliers International in its Q3 2024 Office market report. FILRT was also able to close new leases at the upper end of the P450-750 transacted lease rate per square meter in the Alabang area.

As of end-September 2024, a total of 22,811 square meters of new leases have been signed by FILRT while another 1,724 square meters have Letters of Intent. New leases are a mix of new traditional and BPO tenants, and expansion of existing BPO tenants. Meanwhile, over 42,400 square meters or 75 percent of expiring leases for 2024 have been renewed year-to-date.

In line with the deliberate diversification of its tenant mix with the addition of traditional tenants and co-working locators, the overall tenant mix is currently comprised of 75 percent multinational BPO companies, 13 percent traditional and co-working spaces, 11 percent hospitality, and the balance for retail. FILRT has no POGO exposure and has been free of POGOs since the second quarter of 2022.

As the Philippines’ first sustainability-themed REIT, FILRT integrates EESG into the core of its business, and collaborates with its locators for shared sustainability goals. FILRT provides an enabling environment to attain shared sustainability objectives such as providing green and inclusive spaces for people to work in. To date, 16 of the 17 buildings or about 94 percent of its office portfolio by GLA is powered by renewable energy, with the ultimate goal of reaching 100 percent. FILRT is also active in securing green certifications. Seven FILRT properties have certifications under EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiency) while two buildings are LEED Gold-certified. These are on top of Filinvest City, where 92 percent of the portfolio by valuation is located, being an attractive PEZA and LEEDv4 Neighborhood Development-certified district in the strategic Alabang CBD.

Filinvest REIT Corp. (FILRT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) company whose sponsor is Filinvest Land, Inc., one of the largest property developers in the Philippines with an established portfolio of residential, office, retail and industrial developments around the country.

FILRT was publicly listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange on 12 August 2021 as the Philippines’ first sustainability-themed REIT. Its original portfolio consists of 17 Grade A and LEED Gold certified office buildings which include green and sustainability-themed features. An addition to the portfolio is 2.9 hectares of land that is being leased to the owner and operator of Crimson Resort & Spa Boracay.

Totaling over 330,000 square meters of gross leasable area, 16 of the buildings are in Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest City in Alabang. Filinvest City is a 244-hectare mixed-use and integrated city that is the first and only central business district in the Philippines to receive LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) v4 Gold for Neighborhood Development Plan certification as well as a three-star BERDE (Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence) certification. Another building is Filinvest Cyberzone Cebu Tower 1 located in the gateway of Cebu IT Park in Lahug, Cebu City.