BANGKOK, 29 JANUARY 2021
Frasers Property Industrial REIT Management (Thailand) Company Limited or “FIRM”, as the REIT manager of Frasers Property Thailand Industrial Freehold & Leasehold REIT or “FTREIT”, reported FTREIT's performance for the full year ended 30 September 2020 at FTREIT’s electronic Annual General Meeting 2020. The meeting acknowledged FTREIT’s recorded total revenue of 3,048.4 million Baht for FY2020, a year-on-year increase of 8.6%, with net investment income at 2,099 million Baht, an increase of 20.0% year-on-year.
The prolonged COVID-19 situation affected some of the tenants in the manufacturing and logistics sector. To support tenants undergoing financial hardship in this pandemic and nurture long-term relationships, the rent relief scheme was selectively granted.
In FY2020, the REIT manager had been using active management strategy in response to challenges. The average occupancy rate of FY2020 was at 83.6%, which grew by 1% on average. Recovery from COVID-19's impact with an improved market outlook is seen in the 4QFY2020 results, which is reflected in the renewal rate and additional leasing agreements. As at 30 September 2020, FTREIT has assets under management totalling 614 units, worth 41,143.6 million Baht, with a leasable area of 1,871,012 sqm located in key strategic industrial and logistics areas across seven provinces in Thailand, making FTREIT the largest industrial and logistics REIT in Thailand. The portfolio was enlarged with the acquisition of 60 high-potential assets from Frasers Property Thailand Public Company Limited ("FPT") and other companies over the last fiscal year.
Mr. Peerapat Srisukont, Managing Director of Frasers Property Industrial REIT Management (Thailand) Company Limited or “FIRM”, as the manager of FTREIT, said: “Last year was a challenging year for FTREIT due to impact of COVID-19 on the Thai economy and some of FTREIT’s existing tenants. As REIT manager, we have been performing at our best to mitigate the impacts on the REIT performance and to create sustainable growth at the same time. With the robust performance, FTREIT can make higher distribution payment at 0.6690 Baht per unit in FY2020.”
“To stay ahead of the protracted COVID-19 situation in 2021, FIRM has deployed proactive strategies to manage the REIT with flexibility and agility in response to the new wave of infections in Thailand. We focus on retaining existing tenants and increasing the number of new tenants in the pharmaceutical and e-commerce sectors across our portfolio. For capital management in FY2021, the unitholders approved the capital increase of FTREIT by approving a general mandate for the issuance of additional trust units not exceeding 846,716,114 trust units, and approved for loan facility limits of FTREIT with the maximum outstanding amount at any time totalling not more than 10,000 million Baht. This funding will be used for acquisitions of high-quality assets in strategic areas to support FTREIT’s further growth”, Mr. Peerapat added.