RL Commercial REIT eyes to triple portfolio via potential RLC asset infusions

RL COMMERCIAL REIT, Inc. (RCR) plans to expand its portfolio in the coming years through potential asset infusions from its sponsor Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), a company official said.

“The current assets that are in RCR right now from the sponsor is just one-third of the sponsors’ assets,” RCR Treasurer and Director Kerwin Max S. Tan said during a media briefing last week.

“Potentially, RCR can grow two-thirds of the assets of the sponsor. So, it’s basically three times more of the current assets,” he added.

Mr. Tan said growth is expected in the next few years, depending on market conditions and other factors.

As of end-March, RCR’s assets stood at P114.06 billion, while shareholders’ equity totaled P109.48 billion.

RCR has 828,000 square meters (sq.m.) of gross leasable area (GLA), consisting of 539,000 sq.m. of office space and 289,000 sq.m. of mall space. The company holds 17 offices and 12 mall assets across 18 locations nationwide.

The REIT company is positioned for further growth as RLC still has over 1.3 million sq.m. of mall GLA and over 250,000 sq.m. of office GLA that could be infused in the future.

RLC could also infuse about 300,000 sq.m. of logistics GLA and approximately 4,000 hotel room keys into RCR.

In April, RLC raised P6.2 billion from a block sale of 1.04 billion RCR common shares at P5.95 apiece, paving the way for the REIT company’s future portfolio expansion.

The transaction increased RCR’s public float to 42.57% from 35.93%.

Last year, RLC infused 13 properties worth P33.9 billion into RCR. The infused assets include Robinsons Luisita, Robinsons Cabanatuan, Robinsons Novaliches, Robinsons Cainta, Robinsons Imus, Robinsons Sta. Rosa, and Robinsons Los Baños.

RLC also infused Robinsons Lipa, Robinsons Palawan, Robinsons Ormoc, Cybergate Davao, Giga Tower, and Cybergate Delta 2.

For the first quarter, RCR grew its net income by 47% to P1.66 billion, as revenue surged by 58% to P2.25 billion.

RCR shares were last traded on May 9, rising by 1.39% or nine centavos to P6.58 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave