Dubai: Sticking to its core operating strategies, Emirates REIT (real estate investment trust) recorded a 2.8 per cent gain in net profits for the first-half of the year to total $35 million. This was built upon a ‘stable’ income stream and recording growth in the value of the REIT.
Net property income gained 6.4 per cent to $45 million, while net asset value (NAV) was up to $1.48 per share, representing an annualised total return of 16.4 per cent.
Emirates REIT’s plan is to distribute a dividend to its shareholders twice a year — an interim dividend at the end of January and a final dividend in June.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Emirates REIT confirmed its involvement in a new school project at the Akoya master-development from Damac. The REIT acquired the freehold land plot and leased it immediately to the school’s operator at a 10.1 per cent net yield.
Its total investment in the project is expected to be Dh208 million, and expects to see an immediate valuation gain of Dh6 million by the end of the month. Over the course of the next year, the REIT will fund the further development of the school and expects to achieve an internal rate of return of 11 per cent plus.
“We have had a strong first half from an operational and financial perspective and the recent transaction to develop a new school in Akoya and continued progress made at Index Tower maintains our momentum into the second half of the year,” said Sylvain Vieujot, Executive Deputy Chairman of Emirates REIT Management (Private) Ltd.
“The REIT’s strategy of active portfolio management and the acquisition of properties with upside potential enables it to consistently deliver a healthy total return.”
