Golden Finance News: bocom intl issued research reports mentioning that Link REIT (00823) announced its financial performance for the first half of the 2025 fiscal year, with revenue/net property income increasing by 6.4%/5.8% year-on-year to 7.153 billion/5.359 billion Hong Kong dollars respectively. Distributable income increased by 4.3% year-on-year to 3.476 billion Hong Kong dollars, with a dividend per unit increasing by 3.7% year-on-year to 134.89 Hong Kong cents, approximately 4.5% higher than the market's expectation of around 129 Hong Kong cents.

In China, the rental adjustment rate for the retail segment in Hong Kong reached +0.7% during the period, maintaining a high occupancy rate of 98%, with total retail income increasing by 2.6% to 3.829 billion Hong Kong dollars. Additionally, the rental adjustment rates in the Mainland China and Singapore retail property portfolios recorded -3.2% and +18.9% respectively for the period. The bank expects that the overall rental level for the 2025 fiscal year can remain relatively stable. As of the first half of the 2025 fiscal year, Link's average borrowing cost was 3.69%, a decrease from 3.78% at the end of the 2024 fiscal year. The bank anticipates that the company's future average borrowing cost will remain stable with a slight decrease.

The bank believes that the financial performance for the first half of the 2025 fiscal year is stable, dividends are better than market expectations, and displays Link's resilience to mainland consumer demand with a focus on essential consumer goods in the Hong Kong retail portfolio. Based on the DDM (Dividend Discount Model), the bank maintains the target price at 47.70 Hong Kong dollars and retains a buy rating.