15-05-2025
Irish Residential Properties REIT's Q1 occupancy levels rise
Irish Residential Properties REIT, Ireland's largest private residential landlord, has today reported occupancy levels of 99.7% for the first quarter of 2025, up from 99.4% in the previous quarter.
In a trading update ahead of its AGM today, it said the increase was underpinned by exceptional demand for rental accommodation in Ireland and its "efficient" operating model, and reflected the high quality of its modern portfolio of assets.
I-RES REIT said its Net Rental Income margin continued to improve in the first three months of the year compared to the second half of 2024, adding that it continues to implement additional income generating and cost reduction initiatives as identified in its Strategic Review.
The company said that disposals under that review initiative continued their strong momentum into 2025, after the completion of 66 unit disposals in 2024.
As previously announced at the end of December, it had 13 units in the pipeline for disposal. It said today that all of these disposals have now completed at strong premia to book values, and a further 12 are in the pipeline for disposal in the near term.
"We remain confident we will complete the disposal of at least 50 units in 2025, at an average sales premium of between 15% and 20%, having had a strong start to the year delivering premia in excess of this range," it added.
Eddie Byrne, CEO of I-RES, said the company was encouraged by the positive momentum of the business.
"The execution of our recycling programme is in line with our expected timeframe and will further strengthen our financial position," he said.
"The successful completion of the refinancing in the period will bolster our position in the market, delivering additional capital and significantly increased flexibility, positioning us well to play a part in the delivery of much needed new rental accommodation," the CEO said.
He also said that consistent with the company's capital allocation strategy and also recognising the current discount between its share price and its Net Asset Value per share, it completed a share buyback programme, returning €5m to shareholders.
"We will continue to concentrate on value accretive capital allocation strategies for so long as the share price trades at a steep discount to Net Asset Value," he said.
"Furthermore, while we will continue to consider all opportunities to enhance shareholder value, we are confident about the long-term market opportunity which is underpinned by our high-quality portfolio and market leading operating platform," he added.
