New tenants come to the rescue of Filinvest REIT

The real estate investment trust (REIT) arm of Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp. saw a modest increase in its first-semester profits as new tenants came in to replace previous ones that have decided to shift to hybrid work.

Filinvest REIT Corp. (FILRT) on Thursday said its six-month net income inched up by 7.13 percent to P601 million.

Revenues shed 11 percent to P1.4 billion due to the “temporary drop” in office occupancy, specifically during the first quarter, as FILRT’s tenants adopted postpandemic setups.

As a result, average occupancy in its 17 buildings and one resort dropped to 79 percent from the previous 84 percent.

FILRT president and CEO Maricel Brion-Lirio said the company was rebuilding tenancy and “signing fresh names,” particularly new multinational business process outsourcing (BPO) entrants from Singapore and New Zealand.

Last month, New Zealand-based Building Engineering and Design Co. (BEDC) expanded its lease with FILRT and now occupies two floors.

BEDC first entered the country in March last year when it established its office in Filinvest Two in Alabang.

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“We are looking to expand our portfolio and further diversify our tenant base as we continue to gain momentum,” Lirio said.

FILRT’s portfolio currently spans 330,448 square meters. As for its tenant mix, 76 percent are BPOs; traditional and coworking spaces, 12 percent; hospitality, 11 percent; and retail, 5 percent.

The company also pointed out it had no exposure to Philippine offshore gaming operators since the second quarter of 2022 and was thus unaffected by President Marcos’ ban order.