Good Morning All,
We issued a
2Q26 results note on our coverage stock
IGB Commercial REIT: Your Trusted Guide to Global Trading | Malacca Securities (
mplusonline.com)
📌 Earnings above expectations. IGBCR registered a 2QFY26 core PAT of RM31.8m, bringing the 1HFY26 core PAT to RM60.6m (after stripping off the revaluation gain of RM3.3m). The results came in above our expectations, accounting for 61.0% and 57.4% of our and consensus estimates, respectively. Key deviations were mainly attributed to higher-than-expected occupancy and rental rates and also lower-than-expected finance cost.
📌 YoY. IGBCR’s 2QFY26 core PAT increased 7.1% YoY, from RM29.6m in 2QFY25 to RM31.8m in 2QFY26, primarily due to improved occupancy and higher rental rates. Revenue rose 10.3% YoY to RM71.2m, while NPI surged 18.5% YoY to RM45.1m. Meanwhile, finance costs declined 17.1% YoY from RM10.4m to RM8.6m, providing additional earnings uplift.
📌 QoQ. Revenue increased 3.4% QoQ to RM71.2m from RM68.9m in 1QFY26, while NPI rose 1.5% QoQ to RM45.1m. Core PAT surged 10.2% QoQ from RM28.8m in 1QFY26, mainly attributed to higher rental income and occupancy levels recorded during the quarter.
📌 Income distribution. RM32.8m was declared as income distribution for 2QFY26, implying a DPU of 1.35 sen per unit (vs RM24.9m distributable income in 2QFY25, implying a DPU of 1.03 sen). Cumulative 1HFY26 DPU stands at 2.68 sen (vs 2.10 sen in 1H25).
📌 Portfolio occupancy rate increased to 94.1%. Mid Valley City’s occupancy rate rose from 96.0% in 2QFY25 to 98.0% in 2QFY26, while KL City improved from 84.2% to 87.4% over the same period. Meanwhile, overall portfolio’s occupancy rate increased from 91.6% to 94.1%.
📌 Average rental rate increased as well. The average rental rate for Mid Valley City increased from RM6.85/sqft in 2QFY25 to RM7.10/sqft in 2QFY26. Simultaneously, the average rental rate for KL City also increased from RM5.72/sqft to RM5.93/sqft. On a portfolio basis, the average monthly rental rate increased from RM6.46/sqft to RM6.70/sqft.
📌 Weighted average lease expiry (WALE) stood at 1.85. As at 2QFY26, IGBCR’s WALE stood at 1.85 years. Overall portfolio tenancy expiry profile is ranging from 7% to 43% over FY26-29.
📌 Gearing ratio remains conservative at 26%. Total borrowings stood at RM881.3m as at 2QFY26 (vs RM881.4m in 1QFY26), bringing the gearing ratio to 26.0%. The REIT remains well-protected from interest rate volatility as 97% of its debt is on fixed rates.
📌 Outlook. We maintain a positive outlook on IGBCR as it continues to benefit from the "flight to quality" trend, supported by its build-to-lease model and Green Building Index (GBI) certification across its entire 10-property portfolio. With portfolio occupancy at 94.1% and approaching full occupancy at Mid Valley City (98.0%), we see scope for continued positive rental reversions, underpinned by management’s ongoing AEIs and resilient office demand in strategic and prime locations.
📌 Forecast. Following the positive results surprise, we raise our FY26-FY28 forecasted core PAT upward by 14.8%/15.3%/16.9%, from RM99.3m/RM104.1m/RM108.8m to RM114.0m/RM120.5m/RM127.2m.
📌 BUY recommendation with a higher TP of RM0.76. We maintain our BUY recommendation with a higher target price of RM0.76 (from RM0.70). The target price is derived based on a targeted yield of 6.5% (from 6.0%) on its FY27f EPU of 4.97 sen, following the upward revision to our earnings forecasts. The targeted yield was increased from 6.0% to 6.5% to account for softer investor demand for IGBCR and the broader REIT sector following the removal of the preferential 10% withholding tax (WHT).
Nevertheless, despite the WHT removal, IGBCR’s fundamentals remain intact, supported by its increasing occupancy and rental rates, and we view current price level as an attractive entry point for investors, offering compelling dividend yields between 8.4%-9.3% over FY26-28.
📌 Downside risks. Risks to our recommendation include (i) reduction in occupancy rate due to oversupply in the office market and structural shifts in