PETALING JAYA: Full occupancy, positive rental reversions and contributions from newly acquired properties are expected to support distribution per unit (DPU) growth for AME real estate investment trust (AME-REIT).
BIMB Research maintained a “buy” recommendation and raised its target price to RM1.98 from RM1.93 per unit, citing the trust’s resilient rental income and medium-term expansion prospects.
“Full occupancy, positive rental reversions and contributions from acquired properties support our outlook. The build-to-lease strategy offers medium-term growth potential, although higher financing costs may moderate near-term distributions.”
AME-REIT’s first half of financial year 2027 distributable income rose 6% year-on-year to RM23.2mil, representing 48.1% of BIMB Research’s full-year forecast and coming within expectations.
Revenue increased 14.7% to RM34.2mil, while net property income (NPI) grew 15.3% to RM31.2mil, supported by acquired properties and higher rental rates upon tenancy renewals.
For the second quarter, NPI increased 11.5% to RM16mil, although higher financing costs limited distributable income growth to 2% at RM11.7mil.
The trust declared a quarterly DPU of 2.19 sen, bringing its first-half distribution to 4.34 sen, up 5.3% year-on-year.
“AME-REIT’s portfolio expanded to 44 properties following the completion of the RM50.23mil acquisition of three freehold industrial land parcels spanning 8.87 acres at i-Park@Senai Airport City on Sept 23, 2026,” BIMB Research said.
“Occupancy remained at 100% for the income-producing assets.”
It added that the acquisition supports the trust’s development pipeline, although rental contributions would depend on completion and securing tenants.
“Total financing increased to RM375.5mil, lifting debt-to-assets to 34.0% from 28.8% at end-March 2026,” the research house said.