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PREIT [PREIT 2.40 unch; 64% avgVol] [link] declared a Q1 cash dividend of P0.0332/share (+1.8% y/y, -39.4% q/q) on P121 million of distributable income (+1.6% y/y, -39.6% q/q)., for a dividend payout ratio of 90.3%. The dividend is payable on June 27 to shareholders of record as of June 10.
MB bottom-line: So obviously the outlier there is the Q4/24 dividend that was waaaay larger than usual. Looking at PREIT’s 10 quarters of dividend history, if you ignore the first div (which was something of a catch-up), the Q4/24 was like a freak wave that appeared out of nowhere, showered the boats that somehow knew to expect it with gold, and then disappeared. The amount of distributable income that PREIT generates is fairly consistent: like this quarter, it’s usually about P120 million (give or take a million). The distributable income for Q4/24 was P200 million. Why? Well, thanks to PREIT’s request to file an extension to file its Annual Report, PREIT didn’t submit any data on its Q4 operations until May 2, more than two weeks after declaring the unusually large dividend. Digging into the Annual Report now, PREIT doesn’t discuss its Q4 performance specifically, but it does make an offhand nod to increased FY24 profitability through recognition of an additional P52 million of “variable lease income”. Under the terms of the variable lease agreements, the lessees on PREIT’s land pay the higher of the lease terms (the baseline amount) or a percentage of their income, whichever is higher. Since investors have no insight into the income of the lessees or into the specifics of these agreements, that PREIT would receive variable lease income this year was not public knowledge. What could have driven speculators to bid PREIT up before the dividend was announced on April 14? Just master traders, I guess.
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