PETALING JAYA: UOA Real Estate Investment Trust (UOA REIT) expects the office rental market to remain challenging, amidst escalating cost of doing business and influx of new office supply.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the company said that while it endeavours to improve the occupancy rates for buildings with higher vacancy rates, it foresees the improvement in rental rates will remain restrained in the near term.
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, UOA REIT’s net profit dipped to RM11.67mil from RM14.61mil, while revenue was lower at RM26.40mil, compared with RM28.77mil a year earlier.
Basic earnings per share stood at 1.73 sen versus 2.16 sen previously.
UOA REIT said total expenditure amounted to RM14.72mil, with RM7.74mil attributable to property operating expenses and RM6.99mil attributable to non-property operating expenses.
Going forward, UOA REIT said it maintains a hopeful outlook on the market while also adopting a cautious approach.
“The manager will continue to actively manage the properties in the portfolio with prudent capital management to maximise yields for unitholders.
“Efforts to seek opportunities for future acquisitions that align with the objectives of UOA REIT will also continue.”
