PETALING JAYA: YTL Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust’s (YTL-REIT) growth remains resilient as its Malaysian portfolio continues to perform well, underpinned by income from stable master leases and a new asset, analysts say.
In a note to clients, Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB) said it had upgraded YTL-REIT to a “buy” with an attractive dividend yield of 7.2% for this year versus the sector average of 5.9%.
The research house said the renovation of the group’s Ipoh Hotel was completed on March 17, and the property has since been rebranded as AC Hotel Ipoh.
It is leased to Prisma Tulin Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of YTL Corp Bhd
, under a 15-year lease effective from April 1, with an option to renew for another 15 years.
“This will lift 3% of our Malaysia net property income (NPI), with a 7% NPI yield,” the research house said, adding that YTL-REIT’s Japan income will also remain resilient, supported by its master-lease structure.
Meanwhile, YTL-REIT’s Australian portfolio continues to deliver strong operational performance despite some external challenges such as high operating costs.
