Citicore Energy REIT Corp., the country’s first and largest renewable energy real estate investment trust, said Tuesday net income last year rose 12 percent to P1.4 billion, bolstered by a strong guaranteed base lease plus new properties acquired in 2023.
Revenue last year increased 31 percent year-on-year to P1.8 billion.
Last year, CREIT added seven parcels of land totaling 5.12 million square meters of value accretive assets. The company’s green asset portfolio grew 4.3 times since its initial public offering in 2022. Its assets are 100 percent occupied all year-round, ensuring stable operations and earnings.
CREIT said its stable operations resulted in 2023 net income and earning before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margins of 78 percent and 99 percent, respectively.
“The higher income we generated as a renewable energy REIT allows us to continuously increase value to our shareholders by declaring dividends beyond the mandated 90 percent of distributable income,” said CREIT president and chief executive officer Oliver Tan.
With the strong performance, CREIT has declared a full year 2023 total dividend of P0.199/share, compared with P0.183 the prior year. This translates to a 7.8 percent dividend yield based on the 29 December 2023 closing price of P2.56 a share.For the second straight year, CREIT paid out 106 percent of the company’s distributable income, derived from the guaranteed and variable leases, well-above the required 90 percent as stated in the REIT Law.
Just in March, SM Investments Corp. acquired a 28.79 percent stake in CREIT, raising approximately P5 billion for the listed REIT’s sponsor, Citicore Renewable Energy Corp.
Even with the entry of SM, Citicore Energy remains the single largest stakeholder in CREIT with a 32.88 percent effective ownership.
Proceeds from the sale will contribute to the further development of Citicore Energy’s 1,583MW ready-to-build and under construction solar power projects across eight site locations nationwide.
Citicore Energy aims to contribute approximately 1.0 gigaWatt of solar energy capacity per year as part of its 5-year pipeline rollout roadmap. This expansion is likewise expected to fuel the growth of CREIT’s property holdings.
