Brookfield India REIT declares flat payout at Rs 5 per unit

MUMBAI: Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (REIT) on Tuesday reported a flat payout to unitholders totalling Rs 167.5 crore or Rs 5 per unit on annualised basis for the three months ending December 2022. Sequentially, the payout is a tad lower by 10 paise per unit as it had paid Rs 5.10 in the September quarter.

Brookfield REIT, the only fully-institutionally managed REIT in the country, said it achieved gross leasing of 3.32 million square feet (sf) in the quarter, including 2,41,000 sf of new leasing and 91,000 sf of renewals. Additionally, it signed expansion options of 40,000 sf in Candor TechSpace in Sector 135 of Noida.

This helped the company achieve 12 per cent average escalation on 1.5 million sf (msf) leased area. Higher leasing, occupancy and rentals pushed its adjusted net operating income by 60 per cent on-year to Rs 240.5 crore during the reporting quarter.

Another reason for the higher income was higher operating lease rentals which rose 43 per cent to Rs 206.8 crore. The quarter saw its gross leasing touching 9,49,000 sf, including 6,19,000 sf of new leasing and 3,30,000 sf of renewals.

Additionally, it also signed expansion options of 1,17,000 sf. This has resulted in a 10 per cent average escalation on 3.5 msf of leased area. For the nine-month period, its adjusted net operating income grew 48 per cent to Rs 716.3 crore, while operating lease rentals grew 33 per cent to Rs 615.9 crore and total distribution touched Rs 509.3 crore or Rs 15.20 per unit.

The company said the construction is on track at the retail-led 5,61,000 sf mixed use development at Candor TechSpace at Rajarhat in Kolkata comprising 1,74,000 sf of retail space and 3,87,000 sf of office space. The quarter also saw its inorganic growth pipeline rising to 6.5 msf of fully built-up properties.

The company continues to deliver a strong performance with 1.1 msf leased year-to-date including expansion options, while achieving 9 per cent growth in net operating income.

It has a robust leasing pipeline of 2.2 msf and continues to evaluate select assets belonging to sponsor group for inorganic growth, said Alok Aggarwal, chief executive at Brookprop Management Services, the manager of Brookfield India REIT.

Brookfield India REIT has five large campus format office parks located in Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, and Kolkata. The portfolio consists of 18.7 msf comprising 14.3 msf of completed area, 0.6 msf of under-construction and 3.9 msf of future development potential.