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Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
FIBRA Macquarie (DBMBF) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Performance Amid Macroeconomic ...
Consolidated Revenues: Record per certificate results in underlying US dollar terms. NOI (Net Operating Income): Record results driven by robust lease GLA performance. AFFO (Adjusted Funds From Operations): $30 million, an 8.6% increase year over year. Distribution Yield: Attractive dollarized cash yield of 8% with a mid 80% payout ratio. Leasing Activity: 1.3 million square feet executed, rental rates grew by 6.8% to $6.45 per square meter. Renewal Spreads: Achieved 28% on commercially negotiated leases. Industrial Occupancy: 94.8%, up 10 basis points sequentially. Retail Portfolio NOI Growth: 4.5% for the quarter. Retail Occupancy: 93.4%, up more than 130 basis points year over year. Real Estate Net LTV: Below 33% as of June 30. Liquidity: $420 million US. Debt Repayment: $50 million US during 2Q '25. FY25 AFFO Guidance: $115 to $119 million US. Cash Distributions Guidance: MXN2.45 per certificate for FY25. FX Assumption Update: Revised to MXN18.5 per US dollar from 20.5%. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with DBMBF. Release Date: July 25, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Positive Points FIBRA Macquarie (DBMBF) reported record per certificate results in key metrics such as consolidated revenues, NOI, AFFO, and NAV for the second quarter of 2025. The industrial portfolio maintained a high occupancy rate of 94.8% and achieved a 6.8% increase in rental rates, reaching $6.45 per square meter. The company successfully executed 1.3 million square feet of leasing activity with notable renewal spreads of 28% on commercially negotiated leases. FIBRA Macquarie's retail portfolio showed steady improvements with a 4.5% NOI growth and occupancy reaching a post-pandemic high of 93.4%. The company maintains a strong balance sheet with a real estate net LTV below 33% and robust liquidity of $420 million US, allowing for strategic growth and development opportunities. Negative Points Macroeconomic uncertainties, including tariff negotiations and geopolitical factors, are contributing to slower decision-making and impacting new leasing activities. The company faces challenges in larger Class A buildings due to tenants' hesitance in making significant CapEx decisions amid the current macro backdrop. There is a general softness in near-shoring markets such as Monterrey, Juarez, and Reynosa, which remain relatively weak. FIBRA Macquarie's development program faces potential risks related to increased land prices and infrastructure costs, which could impact yield on cost levels. The company is trading at a significant discount to its asset value, raising questions about potential buybacks and capital allocation priorities. Q & A Highlights Q: What is the current gap between your interest rents and the market trends for your industrial portfolio? A: Simon Hanna, CEO, stated that they achieved record spreads of 28% in the second quarter. They are on track to meet their goal of double-digit spreads for the year, with only 5% of scheduled expirations remaining. They expect to maintain solid double-digit spreads with the remaining leases. Q: Can you provide insights into the retail activity and its resilience to tariff noise affecting the industrial portfolio? A: Simon Hanna, CEO, mentioned that retail, which contributes about 15% of their overall NOI, had a strong quarter. They see more tailwinds than headwinds for the second half of the year, with expectations of resilient performance in key metrics like occupancy and rental rates. The recent peso appreciation has also been beneficial. Q: Could you comment on the commercialization for the FRISA JV in Tijuana? A: Simon Hanna, CEO, expressed excitement about the project, which is still in preparatory stages. The location is favorable for both manufacturing and logistics due to its proximity to labor and transport connections. Tijuana shows relative activity compared to other near-shoring markets, and they feel confident about going vertical there earlier. Q: Are there any risks to the yield on cost levels between 9% and 11% for your CapEx program? A: Andrew McDonald-Hughes, CFO, stated they remain confident in maintaining those levels despite increases in land prices and infrastructure costs. They expect the lower end of the range in active markets like Tijuana and Mexico City, with other markets trending towards the midpoint. Q: Are there any refinancing activities planned to extend maturities or optimize your debt structure? A: Andrew McDonald-Hughes, CFO, confirmed they are actively planning to extend maturities and optimize their debt structure, maintaining leverage guidance between 30% and 35% LTV. They see positive indications from debt markets and are confident in delivering solid results. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Newsweek
11 minutes ago
- Newsweek
China's Xi Makes Trump Wait for Leader Talks
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The White House has been optimistic about the prospects for an in-person summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping—the first of President Donald Trump's second term. Yet analysts say the Chinese leader is likely holding out for concrete deliverables before agreeing to the high-profile meeting. All Eyes on Sweden Trump dramatically escalated the trade war with the world's second-largest economy in April, rolling out sweeping new tariffs that prompted China to respond with its own export duties and other measures. While Trump has said that "the confines of a deal" are in place ahead of a third round of talks between U.S. and Chinese negotiators, set for Sweden next week, several contentious issues remain unresolved. These include ongoing U.S. curbs on advanced chip exports to China and persistent geopolitical friction over influence in Asia and Beijing's threats toward Taiwan. Newsweek reached out to the White House and Chinese embassy in the U.S. via email for comment. Europe's Role Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute, told Newsweek: "A Xi-Trump summit is highly probable, but withholding final approval until Beijing can button down more information and as many concessions as possible is no doubt part of Xi's calculus." "What China and the United States can each negotiate with the EU will also help inform the China-US trade bargain that will be at the heart of any Xi-Trump summit," Cronin said. After months of efforts with dozens of countries, the White House recently secured a handful of deals with Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, Cronin added. In a picture combination created on May 14, 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump are shown. In a picture combination created on May 14, 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump are shown. Dan Kitwood, Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images Among the deals Trump hopes to achieve is with the EU—a traditionally U.S.-aligned bloc that has become increasingly alienated by Trump's unpredictable trade moves and controversial domestic policies. Analysts say China has been seeking to exploit this rift and achieve a thaw in ties with Brussels that has deteriorated over issues like alleged Chinese market flooding with state-subsidized electric vehicles, human rights concerns and Beijing's support for Russia amid the war in Ukraine. Sean King, an Asia scholar and senior vice president at Park Strategies, told Newsweek: "PRC [People's Republic of China] leaders have long seen Europe as a comparatively easier mark, as the continent doesn't have America's Asian security concerns and obligations." He added, "It's probably better for Trump to first line up what he says are trade deals with friends and allies before going for the big one with Beijing." While European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's visit to Beijing this week yielded a memorandum of understanding on climate change and an agreement to facilitate rare-earth exports, analysts note that a fundamental shift in EU-China ties remains elusive. Timetable Uncertain U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Malaysia earlier this month for meetings with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, said that "the odds are high" a Trump-Xi summit will take place by the end of the year. Rosemary Foot, professor and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations, told Newsweek it's unlikely Xi is counting on Europe as leverage in his dealings with the White House. "I think that it is to do with China's more general approach to the Trump administration which is to wait for some intention to offer a serious deliverable from the meeting and perhaps also to paint President Trump as supplicant," she said. Trump and Xi last met in 2019 at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Thai-Cambodian conflict pits a well-equipped US ally against a weaker adversary with strong China links
The deadly conflict on the Thai-Cambodian border pits a longtime United States ally with decades of experience against a relatively young armed force with close ties to China. Bangkok and Phnom Penh are fighting over territory disputed since colonial power France drew the border between them more than a century ago. Clashes continued into Saturday, according to officials on both sides. More than a dozen people have been reported killed, dozens wounded, and more than 150,000 civilians evacuated since fighting began on Thursday. Here's a look at the histories and capabilities of the two sides. Numbers favor Thailand Thailand's military dwarfs that of neighboring Cambodia, both in personnel and weaponry. Thailand's total of 361,000 active-duty personnel spread across all branches of the kingdom's military is three times Cambodia's. And those troops have at their disposal weaponry their Cambodian counterparts could only dream of. 'Thailand has a large, well-funded military and its air force is one of the best equipped and trained in Southeast Asia,' the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) wrote in its 'Military Balance 2025' look at the world's armed forces. Meanwhile, a 2024 ranking of the military capabilities of 27 regional nations by the Lowy Institute places Thailand at 14th, to Cambodia's 23rd. Such a disparity is perhaps to be expected, given Thailand has four times as many people as Cambodia, and a GDP more than 10 times larger. Unlike Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, it escaped the ravages of the wars that engulfed the region in the second half of the 20th century, and the European colonialism that preceded them. Overall, with factors including military, economic, diplomatic and cultural power weighed in the Lowy Asia Power Index, Thailand is ranked 10th, considered a middle power, just behind Indonesia but ahead of countries including Malaysia and Vietnam. Lowy ranks Cambodia as a minor power in Asia, grouped with countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Laos. Thailand has strong US ties, global outlook Thailand's military has long been a major player in the kingdom's politics. The country has for years been dominated by a conservative establishment comprising the military, the monarchy and influential elites. Generals have seized power in 20 coups since 1932, often toppling democratic governments, according to the CIA World Factbook, and the military portrays itself as the ultimate defender of the monarchy. Thailand is a United States treaty ally, a status dating back to the signing of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, also known as the Manila Pact, in 1954, according to the US State Department. During the Vietnam War, Thailand hosted US Air Force assets at some air bases, including B-52 bombers, and tens of thousands Thai troops fought on the side of the US-backed South Vietnam against the communist North. Strong ties between Washington and Bangkok have endured. Thailand is classed as a major non-NATO ally by the US, giving it special benefits that have enabled it to enjoy access to decades of US support for its weapons programs. Thailand and the US Indo-Pacific Command co-host the annual Cobra Gold military exercise, which began in 1982 as joint drills with the US but has since added dozens of other participants. It's the longest-running international military exercise in the world, according to the US military. Besides Cobra Gold, Thai and US forces hold more than 60 exercises together, and more than 900 US aircraft and 40 Navy ships visit Thailand yearly, the US State Department says. Despite all that history with Washington, these days the Thai military tries to maintain a more neutral approach to military policy, increasing ties with China in the past decade. Not wanting to rely on any one country as its arms supplier, it has also developed a strong domestic weapons industry, with the help of countries such as Israel, Italy, Russia, South Korea and Sweden, the 'Military Balance' report says. Cambodia's Chinese support Cambodia's military is young in comparison to Thailand's, established in 1993 after forces of the communist government were merged with two non-communist resistance armies, according to the IISS. 'Cambodia's most important international defense links are with China and Vietnam. Despite a traditional reliance on Russia for defense equipment, China has emerged as a key supplier,' the IISS says. Beijing has even developed a naval base in Cambodia. The Ream Naval Base, on the Gulf of Thailand, would be able to host Chinese aircraft carriers, according to international analysts. Cambodia and China completed the seventh edition of their annual Golden Dragon joint military exercise in May, which was touted as the largest ever and featured live-fire training scenarios. It's a relationship that's expected to reach 'a new level and achieve new development' this year, according to a February report on the People's Liberation Army's English-language website. 'China and Cambodia are iron-clad friends who… always support each other. The two militaries enjoy unbreakable relations and rock-solid brotherhood,' Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Senior Col. Wu Qian told a press conference in February, when asked about possible fissures in relations. Cambodia's military needs the support. 'Cambodia currently lacks the ability to design and manufacture modern equipment for its armed forces,' the IISS report says. Weapons on each side Bolstered by years of US support, the Royal Thai Air Force is well equipped, with at least 11 modern Swedish Gripen fighter jets and dozens of older, US-made F-16 and F-5 jets, according to the IISS. Cambodia has no combat-capable air force to speak of. On the ground, Thailand has dozens of battle tanks, including 60 modern, Chinese-made VT-4 tanks, and hundreds of older, US-made tanks. Cambodia has about 200 old Chinese- and Soviet-made tanks, the 'Military Balance' shows. The Thai army boasts more than 600 artillery pieces, including at least 56 powerful 155mm weapons and more than 550 105mm towed guns. Cambodia has only a dozen 155mm guns with around 400 smaller towed artillery pieces, according to IISS figures. In the air, the army has US-made Cobra attack helicopters as well as 18 US Black Hawk transports. Cambodia has only a few dozen older Soviet and Chinese transport helicopters. What comes next Hawaii-based military analyst Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center, said that while Thailand has the numerical and qualitative military advantage, Cambodia has at least one thing in its favor – the actual land along the disputed border. 'Terrain favors access from Cambodian territory to the disputed area,' Schuster told CNN. And with Cambodian forces allegedly laying landmines and booby traps in the disputed area, Thailand can be expected to rely on longer-range weaponry, he said. 'The Royal Thai Air Force is superior and their special forces are superior,' Schuster said. 'I think the Thais will prefer to emphasize air power and long-range firepower in the conflict.' Solve the daily Crossword
