Assets acquired in 2023 prop up CREIT net income in H1

By Lenie Lectura and VG Cabuag – August 13, 2024
from Business Mirror

Citicore Energy REIT Corp. (CREIT) said its net income rose by 12 percent year-on-year to P693.41 million in January to June due to higher revenues during the period.

“The increase is mainly related to full take up of incremental revenues from the assets acquired in 2023 which were financed by the green bond issuance,” the company reported to the stock exchange Monday.

Revenues stood at P920.85 million in the first half, 15 percent higher compared with last year’s level. This was driven by the full impact of the new parcels of land acquired from the use of proceeds of its green bond offering in February last year. These parcels of land were then leased out to the new projects that are currently under construction.

CREIT’s revenues translated to a 14-percent and 12-percent increase in EBITDA and net income, respectively, solidifying CREIT’s position as the largest renewable energy real estate investment trust (REIT) in the Philippines.

The company also declared dividends for the first half amounting to P0.049/share, payable on October 4 to shareholders on record as of September 10.

“CREIT has sustained the delivery of attractive dividends each quarter, driven by growing lease revenues and strategic asset acquisitions aligned with Citicore Renewables’ project pipeline.

This approach underscores the resilience of our REIT investment strategy, enabling the company to continually acquire value-accretive assets and closely align CREIT’s growth with that of its sponsor, CREC,” said company president Oliver Y. Tan.

CREIT’s sponsor, Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC), has over five gigawatts (GWs) of project pipeline in varying stages of development with its first gigawatt well underway. Its unique green asset portfolio, with total landholdings of 7,100,000 square meters and backed by 100 percent occupancy with a weighted average lease expiry of 20.94 years, has allowed it to consistently declare above-prescribed dividends since its listing in the stock market in February 2022.