CREIT earnings jumped 12% last year as portfolio grew

Citicore Energy REIT Corp. (CREIT) of tycoon Edgar Saavedra booked a 12-percent rise in earnings, which reached P1.4 billion in 2023 on “resilient” lease revenues.

The country’s first renewable energy real estate investment trust (REIT) landlord on Tuesday said its green asset portfolio grew by 4.3 times since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2022, having added seven parcels of land totaling 5.12 million square meters in last year alone.

Revenues, meanwhile, surged by 31 percent to P1.8 billion.CREIT’s assets likewise have full occupancy, mostly through the solar farms of REIT sponsor Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC).

“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,” CREIT president and CEO Oliver Tan said in a statement.CREIT declared a total dividend of P0.199 per share, increasing from P0.183 in 2022. This translates to a 7.8-percent dividend yield based on its end-2023 closing price.

The company remains bullish on its growth this year, especially after CREC raised P5 billion from the sale of CREIT shares to Sy family-led conglomerate SM Investments Corp.

SMIC acquired 1.884 million of CREC’s shares in CREIT, equivalent to a 28.79-percent stake in the latter.

CREC, which is under the Megawide Group, is still the single-largest shareholder of CREIT with a 32.88-percent stake.

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Proceeds from the sale will be used to develop the renewable energy 1,583-megawatt solar power projects in the pipeline across eight locations in the country.

Also, the landmark deal is expected to boost CREC’s IPO prospects, as analysts pointed out that there was now less pressure for the company to raise capital.

CREC plans to go public within the second quarter and aims to raise P12.9 billion from its IPO. INQ