Determinant Factors of Profitability in Malaysia’s Real Estate Investment Trusts (M-REITS)

Abstract

The performance of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) can be literarily explained in terms of its operational success which is revealed in its profitability to the investors (Grupe & DiRocco, 1999). A company’s success in investments is usually measured by its profitability. The objective of this study is to examine the role of determinant factors towards the profitability of M-REITs. This research was conducted using procedures of panel data for a total sample of 8 Malaysia’s Real Estate Investment Trusts (M-REITs) for a period of 8 years, starting from 2008 until 2015. The profitability of M-REITs was measured by the return on equity (ROE) as the dependent variable, whereas the determinant factors for M-REITs’ profitability are dividend yield (DY), net asset value (NAV) and price earnings ratio (PER) as the independent variables. The outcome from the research revealed that only dividend yield (DY) has a positive significant relationship with M-REITs profitability, and no significant relationship was found between both net asset value (NAV) and price earnings ratio (PER) towards M-REITs profitability.