KUALA LUMPUR: Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust's (Hektar Reit) net profit fell to RM5.08 million in the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2024 from RM9.21 million a year ago.
Hektar Reit manager Hektar Asset Management Sdn Bhd said the trust recorded a steady revenue of RM28.4 million in Q1 2024 from RM28.9 million in the previous year's corresponding quarter.
"The marginal dip is due to the on-going tenancy remixing initiative and heightened utilities cost respectively.
"Nevertheless, backed by the effective operational management, Hektar REIT have maintained a steady operational performance with a realised net income of RM5.1 million," it said in a statement.
On its prospect, Hektar Asset chief executive officer Johari Shukri Jamil said Hektar Reit's recent diversification strategy is aligned with its objective to deliver attractive returns to its unitholders by injecting assets with accretive yield into it.
"We are actively looking to build up our investment pipeline to increase the revenue and assets under management (AUM) for long-term sustainable growth of Hektar REIT," he added.
Hektar Reit's current AUM consist of six shopping malls and a hotel, spread across Peninsular Malaysia.
The geographical diversification strategy has boded well for Hektar Reit and aligns with the overarching strategy of focusing on retail assets in underserved markets.
As its marches forward in an increasingly competitive retail landscape, Hektar REIT has decided to pursue asset portfolio diversification.
