YTL-REIT sees resilient hospitality outlook across key markets
'The group is actively managing its business portfolio and making strategic decisions to protect long-term growth, while ensuring sustainable value creation for its unitholders,' it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.
This comes as the YTL-REIT posted a 0.9% rise in net property income (NPI) to RM292.07mil for the financial year ended June 30, 2025 (FY25), despite a 1.2% dip in revenue to RM548.3mil.
The REIT attributed the performance to additional rental contributions from refurbished AC Hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kuantan, as well as a new rental agreement for AC Hotel Ipoh, which commenced in April.
Hotel Stripes and the step-up rental from the renewed lease of JW Marriott Hotel – both in Kuala Lumpur – also supported earnings, it said.
Overall, its Malaysian portfolio saw steady growth, with revenue up 5.9% to RM163.1mil in FY25 from RM154mil in FY24 and NPI rising 6% to RM154.9mil from RM146.1mil.
In contrast, revenue from Australia and Japan fell 4.1% and 2.1% year-on-year to RM358.6mil and RM26.6mil respectively, with NPI dropping 3% to RM116.1mil in Australia and 11.4% to RM21.1mil in Japan.
The lower NPI from its Japanese assets was due to repair and maintenance works, YTL-REIT explained.
For the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2025 (4Q25), YTL-REIT's topline dipped about 2.4% to RM127.03mil from the RM130.19mil in the previous corresponding quarter.
NPI for the quarter under review fell 2.8% to RM63.97mil from RM65.78mil in 4Q24.
YTL-REIT declared a final income distribution of 4.8372 sen per unit for the second half of FY25, bringing the total to 7.75 sen — representing a 100.4% payout ratio.
This was slightly lower than the 8.27 sen distributed in FY24, which had a 95% payout ratio.
Earnings per unit fell to 8.72 sen in FY25 from 10.44 sen in the previous financial year.
On a brighter note, the REIT said it recorded a RM124mil revaluation surplus in May 2025, lifting the value of its investment properties to RM5.06bil from RM4.94bil.
Net asset value per unit, however, declined 1.3% to RM1.725 as at end-June, from RM1.746 a year earlier.
As at June 30, YTL-REIT managed a portfolio of 4,915 rooms across Malaysia, Australia and Japan.
Properties in Malaysia and Japan remain under master lease agreements, while its three Marriott-branded hotels in Australia recorded a stable average occupancy rate of 82.9% in FY25, compared with 82.5% in FY24.
Its total borrowings stood at RM2.33bil, with a gearing ratio of 42.8% and an interest cover of 2.1 times.
The group has a total asset value of RM5.44bil and the group said it has an estimated debt headroom of RM621mil for potential acquisitions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Nine Malaysian firms make the cut in Forbes Asia's Best Under A Billion 2025
KUALA LUMPUR: Nine Malaysian companies have been included in Forbes Asia's Best Under a Billion 2025 list, which puts the spotlight on 200 Asia-Pacific companies with annual sales above USUS$10mil and below US$1bil. The nine Malaysian companies in this year's list are Able Global Bhd , Crescendo Corp Bhd , Frontken Corp Bhd , Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd , Hup Seng Industries Bhd , ITMax System Bhd , Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd , Pekat Group Bhd and Scientex Bhd . There are fewer Malaysian companies on the list in 2025 as compared to the 11 that made it in 2024. Able Global was the only Malaysian company that appeared in both years. Malaysia's nine inclusions gives it the third-most representation on the list among countries in Southeast Asia, with only Thailand (17) and Indonesia (10) featuring more companies. "With trade tensions looming over the Asia-Pacific region, growth is predicted to continue to slow, according to the International Monetary Fund. "Despite these challenges, the annual Best Under A Billion list showcases businesses that remained resilient over the past year and, in many cases, thrived," said Forbes Asia in a statement. Forbes Asia added that the financial service sector saw 18 companies in the list, which was more than double the eight that appeared in the previous year. The beauty industry saw 13 companies - mostly from South Korea - included in the list. "Other companies in the region have benefited from the gathering momentum in the segments in which they operate, such as renewable energy, electric vehicles and data centres," it added. In total, 69 companies returned to the 2025 list from the previous year The companies on this unranked list were selected based on a composite score using measures such as debt, sales and earnings-per-share growth over both the most recent fiscal one- and three-year periods, and the strongest one- and five-year average returns on equity. Aside from quantitative criteria, qualitative screens were applied, such as excluding companies with serious governance issues, questionable accounting practices, environmental concerns, management problems or legal troubles in recent years. The list uses annual results based on the latest publicly available figures as of July 7, 2025.
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Bleak outlook for media sector as Adex slumps
KUALA LUMPUR: The media sector is expected to remain weak in the second half of 2025, weighed down by ongoing structural challenges and subdued advertising expenditure (adex), said HLIB Research. The industry continues to struggle with the rapid decline of traditional media, while digital transformation efforts have delivered slow and uneven results. "Adex remains subdued, weighed down by cautious global sentiment and tighter corporate marketing budgets," it said in a note. "While monetisation of digital platforms is growing, it still lags the sharp decline in legacy revenue streams." Adex across all segments has been disappointing. Nielsen data showed total adex from January to May this year shrank 17 per cent compared to the same period last year, reflecting ongoing market weakness. Digital adex, once a bright spot, plunged 47 per cent, suggesting advertisers are cutting back across all platforms. Other media segments also suffered declines: free-to-air television adex fell by six per cent, newspapers by 12 per cent, magazines by 10 per cent, radio by 23 per cent and cinema by a staggering 50 per cent. "That said, there is potential for a modest uplift in the second half, supported by the upcoming Sabah state election by January 2026 and pre-promotional activities ahead of the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign," the firm said. While both Media Prima Bhd and Astro Malaysia Bhd have made digital investments through REV Media and digital content platforms respectively, HLIB Research said these initiatives have yet to translate into material gains. "The overall share of digital advertising captured by local players remains small compared to global tech giants like Meta, Google and TikTok. "These international platforms dominate digital ad spend due to their superior targeting capabilities and vast user bases, leaving Malaysian companies with limited bargaining power and thinner margins," it said. HLIB Research added that monetising digital content remains a challenge, especially in a market where consumers are reluctant to pay for online media.
Focus Malaysia
2 hours ago
- Focus Malaysia
Zaid wants PMX, Tengku Zafrul to step down for bowing to US in lopsided tariff negotiation
PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul should resign for their complete surrender to US president Donald Trump who is a renowned tough negotiator. This is because if Malaysia had not agreed to buy US$240 bil worth of American goods, the tariff on Malaysian exports might probably stay at 25%. 'But instead of negotiating from a position of strength, they capitulated – and settled for a 6% reduction which brought the tariff down to 19%,' berated former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim in a social media post. Both PMX and Tengku Zafrul should resign for their complete surrender to Trump. If we had not agreed to buy US $240 billion worth of American goods, the tariff on our exports might have been 25%. But instead of negotiating from a position of strength, they capitulated—and… — Zaid Ibrahim (@zaidibrahim) August 4, 2025 'What did we get in return? A saving of US$2.6 bil/year (RM10.4 bil/year) over the next four years based on Malaysia's current export value of US$43 bil/year. 'In contrast, we committed to buying US$240 bil (RM1.02 tril) in American goods, effectively trading RM24 to save RM1. How is that sound economic policy?' For context, Tengku Zafrul told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday (Aug 4) that Malaysia has agreed to buy and invest o ver US$240 bil with the US to reduce or bridge the trade gap between both countries, eventually securing the 19% tariff rate. The key deals include: US$150 bil in purchases by multinationals in Malaysia's semiconductor, aerospace and data centre sectors over five years; US$70 bil in Malaysian investments in the US over 10 years; US$19 bil Boeing aircraft order by Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) for fleet renewal; US$3.4 bil/year in LNG (liquefied natural gas) purchases by PETRONAS; US$42.6 mill/year in coal purchases by Tenaga Nasional Bhd; and US$119 mil in telecom product purchases by Telekom Malaysia Bhd. Can the Opposition fare better? Zaid further questioned why had the Madani government bowed down so easily to Washington's demand given that 'Trump has less than four years left in office'. 'His protectionist lunacy, like all things Trump, is likely to end in chaos – either at the ballot box or in the courts,' argued the opposition-slant UMNO member. Datuk Zaid Ibrahim 'Why then are we so gullible? Why did our leaders panic at the first sign of pressure from a volatile foreign president?' Added Zaid who once served momentarily as the defence counsel of now incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak: 'This is not diplomacy. This is economic appeasement which comes at the expense of Malaysia's sovereignty and long-term interests. 'If this is what the 'Madani economics' look like, we are in deeper trouble than we thought.' While sone commenters concurred that both PMX and Tengku Zafrul 'could have 'screwed up the negotiations', realistically, it would be impossible 'to negotiate from a 'position of strength' when you have no strength'. Interestingly, few commenters wondered if ever the table is turned with Zaid himself in PMX's or Tengku Zafrul's shoes, would the politician with turncoat tendency have fared better? – Aug 5, 2025
