Business briefing

First Reit Q4 distributable income up 26.2%

HEALTHCARE property investor First Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) posted a 26.2 per cent increase in distributable income in the fourth quarter, to $14 million. Earnings per unit rose to 8.03 cents from the year-ago 5.73 cents, while distribution per unit increased 14.5 per cent to 1.97 cents. Net asset value rose to 96.64 cents per share from 82.72 cents per share a year ago. For the full year, distributable income was up 24.9 per cent at $52.1 million, while distribution per unit will total 7.52 cents. First Reit shares closed at $1.045 yesterday, up by 0.5 per cent or half a cent, before the results were announced.