Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR) shares are falling in early trade despite the company announcing a 10% increase in operating profit. At the time of writing, the Mirvac share price has slipped 0.87% to $2.34.
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Why is the Mirvac share price falling?
Mirvac today released its half-year results for the period ended 31 December 2020 (1H 2021). The Aussie real estate investment trust's (REIT) operating profit jumped 10% to $276 million.
However, the Mirvac share price is on the slide after the company reported total statutory profit of $396 million, down from $613 million in December 2019. Mirvac declared a half-year distribution of $188 million or 4.8 cents per stapled security.
The company also provided full-year earnings per share (EPS) guidance. Mirvac expects operating EPS of between 13.1 to 13.5 cents with distribution guidance of 9.6 to 9.8 cents for the full year.
Mirvac CEO and Managing Director Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz noted the ongoing disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic. Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz expects the vaccine roll-out to boost confidence and the economy, with a "reactivation" of cities and urban areas.
Mirvac's office portfolio remains long weighted-average lease expiry (WALE) with low capex and minimal exposure to small tenants. All of those factors have helped to make the portfolio resilient despite widespread restrictions.
The Aussie REIT reported a 97% rent collection rate from its office portfolio. Mirvac's office occupancy sat at 96% with a WALE of 6.7 years.
The Mirvac share price has fallen 29.3% over the past 12 months after falling sharply during the March 2020 bear market.
Today, Mirvac also provided updates across its other major portfolio segments. Industrial rent collection was at 100% with 99.7% occupancy and 7.3-year WALE.
Retail rent collection was subdued at 84% with 98.4% occupancy as COVID-19 restrictions continue to impact retailers.
The REIT also opened its first build-to-rent (BTR) operation in Sydney Olympic Park with 48% of leases signed as at 9 February 2021.
In the residential portfolio, Mirvac settled 1,076 residential lots during the period. These included sites across Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth among others.
Foolish takeaway
The Mirvac share price is edging lower in early trade after this morning's update from the Aussie REIT. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has also edged lower to start the day's trade.
