AREIT was the first listed REIT in the Philippines. It became public in 2020 so the year 2021 would be its first full year of operation as a real estate investment trust. As a shareholder of AREIT, I would like to share some interesting snippets from its 2021 integrated annual report, released last April 21, 2022.

1. It had a portfolio of 12 properties with a total of 549,000 sqm of gross leasable area (GLA), an increase of 60% compared to 2020. The GLA consists of 63% office, 18% industrial, 14% retail and 5% hotel.

2. It had an occupancy rate of 98% from 106 tenants and a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 3.8 years.

3. It paid P1.77 in annual dividends per share, a 34% jump from 2020.

4. It had 23,000 individual shareholders.

5. Its debt-to-equity ratio is 0.08:1

6. It had total revenue of P3.32 billion, a 63% increase year-on-year.

7. Its 3-year strategy is to grow the portfolio by an average of 100,000 sqm per year and achieve a total shareholder return of 10-12% p.a.

8. It is a component of 7 international and local stock market indices.

9. 87% of AREIT’s buildings (by GLA) purchase electricity from renewable sources.

10. Its properties house 45,500 jobs.

AREIT will always hold a special place in my portfolio. It essentially started the whole REIT bandwagon in the Philippines and I also admire their guts to list in 2020, despite of Covid.

This REIT is practically the standard to which I compare all other REITs in terms of dividend and asset growth, transparency, the quality and diversity of its properties; and environmental, social and corporate governance. I’m also familiar with many of its buildings and they look well maintained.

A reminder though that this is not a recommendation to buy AREIT but simply my personal opinion. As always, do your own research before investing.