SINGAPORE (Oct 25): The manager of Cache Logistics Trust has announced distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.313 cents for the 3Q19 ended September, some 11.0% lower than DPU of 1.475 cents in 3Q18.
Distributable income fell 10.4% to $14.2 million during the quarter, from $15.9 million a year ago.
3Q19 gross revenue dropped 12.0% to $27.7 million, from $31.5 million a year ago.
The decline was mainly attributable to the lower revenue from the conversion of Cache Gul LogisCentre from the previous master lease to a multitenancy structure in April 2019, and transitory downtime between replacement tenants in Commodity Hub.
In addition, the expiry of leases at certain properties, absence of contribution from the divested Jinshan Chemical Warehouse and a weaker Australian dollar also contributed to the decline.
Property expenses fell 22.0% to $6.6 million in 3Q19, primarily due to $1.5 million land rent that was excluded from the property expenses due to the adoption of a new accounting standard.
Consequently, net property income (NPI) was 8.3% lower at $21.1 million in 3Q19.
As at end-September, cash and cash equivalents stood at $14.2 million.
Cache saw its committed portfolio occupancy improve by 4 percentage points to 94.0% as at Sept 30, 2019, while portfolio WALE by net lettable area stood at 3.2 years.
“We are pleased with the improvement in portfolio committed occupancy to 94.0%. Signing of 1.3 million sq ft of leases year-to-date is no easy task. This is testament to our proactive asset management efforts to maintain high portfolio occupancy in a challenging business environment,” says Daniel Cerf, CEO of the manager.
Going forward, Cerf adds that the manager will “continue to explore ways to recycle its capital with the aim to pursue strategic value-add acquisition opportunities of freehold assets”.
Units in Cache Logistics Trust closed flat at 72.5 cents on Friday, before the results announcement.
