Axreit ... Jan11

Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) currently has two pending acquisitions, PTP D8 in Johor and Axis Eureka in Cyberjaya, which the property trust expects to complete by the end of January and March respectively.

The two new office buildings in Cyberjaya are part of the seven potential acquisitions currently assessed by Axis-REIT. These include a logistics warehouse and a warehouse in Johor, a warehousing/logistic and manufacturing facility in Shah Alam, and two new logistics warehouses in the Klang Valley.

The (seven) properties have total estimated value of RM365 million.

Axis-REIT is planning for a placement exercise, which could take place within the second quarter 2011, to finance the potential acquisitions. The placement exercise could increase Axis-REIT’s current total of 375.9 million units in circulation by 20%.

The exact timing of the placement exercise will depend on how the property trust’s gearing strategy and investor returns are affected. Historically, fundraising via placement is immediately followed by an acquisition, so as to minimise the impact of dilution to existing shareholders. The third and most recent placement by Axis-REIT was done at RM1.97 per unit in September 2010 and involved 68.82 million units.

Its 4QFY10 ended Dec 31, 2010 posted a net profit of RM40.94 million, up 42% from RM28.77 million in the previous corresponding period. The jump in earnings was boosted by revaluation gain of RM23 million. Revenue for 4Q was RM26.59 million compared with RM19.51 million previously.

For the full year of FY10, net profit totalled RM101.25 million versus RM61.98 million in FY09, while revenue was up 25% y-o-y to RM89.85 million .

As at FY10, value of assets under management rose by 33.2% to RM1.2 billion from RM884.9 million the preceding year. During the financial year, four properties had been acquired, increasing the number of properties under Axis-REIT’s portfolio to 26 as at Dec 31, 2010.

Axis-REIT had their first disposal, selling off Axis North Port LC1 for RM14.5 million cash, which translated into an estimated net gain of RM764,000. Labrooy said that the property was providing “flat returns”, and that it is essential for the property trust to commit to rotate its assets as long as it is financially viable.

For FY10, Axis-REIT had booked in a revaluation gain of RM45.59 million compared to RM19.1 million in FY09.

As of end-2010, Axis-REIT has 375.9 million units in circulation and a market capitalisation of RM891 million based on its current share price of about RM2.37. The property trust was reclassified as an Islamic REIT in 2008, and focuses mainly on assets within the office and industrial sectors.