MREIT declares P614-M Q4 cash dividend
By JAMES A. LOYOLA
MREIT, Inc., the real estate investment trust company of Megaworld Corporation, declared a P614.28-million cash dividend equivalent to P0.2428 per share to its shareholders based on its distributable income in the fourth quarter of 2022.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said the cash dividends will be payable on Feb. 15, 2023 to stockholders on record as of January 24, 2023.
Total dividends for the year reached P0.9770 per share or P2.47 billion. This brings the company’s dividend yield to 7.1 percent as of MREIT’s closing share price of P13.70 per share on January 6, 2023.
MREIT said it will continue to declare quarterly dividends to its shareholders. “We remain committed on delivering competitive returns to our shareholders through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions,” said MREIT President and CEO Kevin L. Tan.
The firm noted that, the dividends do not include additional income arising from the announced property- for-share swap transaction.
Last April, MREIT announced the acquisition of an additional four prime properties worth P5.3 billion. The acquisition is still subject to the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“We aim to complete within this quarter our planned acquisitions announced last year. Once complete, income from these assets will be recognized retroactively beginning January 1 of this year,” explained Tan.
He noted that, “The acquisition will increase MREIT’s property value by 9 percent to P64.5 billion and will provide added growth in line with our promise to deliver sustainable value to our shareholders.”
Once complete, the acquisition will expand MREIT’s portfolio by 16 percent to 325,000 square meters covering 18 office properties in four Megaworld premier townships.