The increase highlights how newly added office assets are already boosting income and returns for shareholders of the real estate investment trust backed by real estate giant Megaworld Corp.
“This is a defining moment for MREIT,” said Jose Arnulfo C. Batac, president and CEO of MREIT.
“For the first time, our shareholders are seeing the full power of an infusion that is not just additive in size, but meaningfully accretive on a per-share basis. This 5 percent uplift in dividends per share is the direct outcome of how Wave 4 was structured, and it sets the standard for every acquisition we will pursue from here on,” he added.
New assets drive immediate dividend growth
The dividend will be paid on May 29 to shareholders on record as of May 15, translating to an annualized yield of 7.6 percent.
The payout reflects the full-quarter contribution of nine office buildings added through a P16.2 billion property-for-share swap completed in March.
The deal was structured to limit dilution while increasing earnings per share from the start.
“Scale alone is not the goal,” Batac said.
"What matters is whether each transaction makes our shareholders better off on a per-share basis. That is the bar we have set, and that is the bar we will keep raising as we move into Wave 5 and beyond,” he added.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
