Axis REIT Managers Bhd chief executive officer Leong Kit May
PETALING JAYA: Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (Axis REIT) has set an acquisition value target of RM300 million.
Axis REIT Managers Bhd chief executive officer and executive director Leong Kit May said last year, the company completed acquisitions worth RM719.4 million, encompassing properties in Temerloh, Pahang, Batu Caves and Pulau Indah in Selangor, among others.
Elaborating on its portfolio, Leong said Axis REIT would continue focusing on the industrial segment, particularly in Selangor, Johor, and Penang, with the geographical diversification to capture the rapid growth of current and future regional industrial hubs.
Leong revealed that 38 per cent of the REIT’s portfolio is from the logistics sector, followed by manufacturing (29 per cent). "In terms of asset type, 56 per cent are logistics warehouses and 26 per cent are manufacturing facilities,” she told a media briefing on its fourth quarter results, adding that the company is also considering acquiring data centres.
To date, the REIT has 69 properties in its portfolio, with 56 properties with 100 per cent occupancy.
On data centres as part of the company’s portfolio, Leong noted that the sector is a new business, thus there have not been many transactions in the market. "For data centres, it's slightly different from industrial assets, because industrial assets are more straightforward, especially in terms of specification, and this is different with data centres, where there are other aspects such as power requirement and other considerations,” she said.
Leong also noted that Selangor recorded RM66.8 billion of approved foreign investments in the first nine months of 2024 while Kuala Lumpur recorded approved investments of RM63.9 billion.
"The central region is a very important hub to the whole of Malaysia. Although the investment trend in Malaysia is very thematic and sometimes when you see a certain theme, you tend to follow it. But (let's not) forget the older hubs in Malaysia. I think this is like the backbone of where our industrial area is,” she added. Citing Westports Holdings Bhd
and Northport (Malaysia) Bhd as an example, she added that both operators have chalked up a record in terms of their container handling.
Meanwhile, on the funding of the planned acquisitions, Leong revealed that Axis REIT had raised RM449.73 million from a private placement towards the end of last year, which was the largest in the company's history.
"We have utilised the proceeds to reduce our net gearing, of which as of December 2024, our net gearing stood at 33 per cent and this will drop down to 32 per cent, and this has opened an opportunity for new acquisitions to be taken,” she said.
Axis REIT has announced its 2024 full year financial results, which saw a lower net profit of RM210 million, down from RM217.77 million recorded in the previous year. Revenue, however, rose to RM320.10 million from RM285.99 million, driven by increased property and non-property expenses, the company said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia. - Bernama
