Wellington, Feb 17 NZPA - ING Medical Properties Trust has posted a $6.76 million operating profit for the six months to December 31, a 15.3 percent increase on the same period the year before.

The trust made a 12-month return to investors of 18.5 percent, significantly higher than the NZX gross property index, which posted a total return of 12.9 percent over the same period, ING Medical Properties general manager David Carr said.

"The trust remains the top performing New Zealand Listed Property entity on a total return basis over three and five year periods."

Though other parts of the commercial property sector were encountering pressure for lower rents and more vacancies due to the global financial crisis, 99 percent of the properties in ING's portfolio were occupied, due to the increasing demand for healthcare and medical facilities, Mr Carr said.

The trust had kept all of its tenants, and remained "resiliently positioned to confront any ongoing economic or financial market hangover resulting from the global financial crisis", he said.

The trust's gross rental income was $12.6m, a 4.9 percent increase on the figures for the same time in 2008, of $11.79m.