The manager of CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT) CY6U has reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 3.36 cents for the 1HFY2023 ended June 30, 22% lower than the DPU of 4.28 cents in the same period the year before.
The lower DPU was attributed to higher finance costs, an enlarged unit base and the depreciation of the Indian rupee (INR) against the Singapore dollar (SGD).
The adjusted weighted average number of units rose by 13% y-o-y to 1.31 billion for the six-month period from 1.16 billion the year before.
Total property income rose by 18% y-o-y to INR6.79 billion ($109.8 million) due to higher portfolio occupancy, as well as income from Arshiya Warehouse 7, the industrial facility in Mahindra World City (MWC), Block A of International Tech Park Hyderabad (ITPH) and income from International Tech Park Pune in Hinjawadi (ITPP-H).
Arshiya Warehouse 7 was acquired in March 2022 while MWC was acquired in May 2022. Block A of ITPH was completed in January 2023 while ITPP-H was acquired in May 2023.
In SGD terms, total property income rose by 7% y-o-y to $110.5 million as the SGD appreciated by about 10% against the INR during the period.
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Net property income (NPI) grew by 13% y-o-y to INR5.26 billion due to the higher revenue and offset by higher total property expenses.
Income available for distribution fell by 2% y-o-y to INR3 billion mainly due to higher net finance costs and partially offset by the higher NPI. After retaining 10% of income available for distribution, income to be distributed was INR2.7 billion.
In SGD terms, income available for distribution fell by 11% y-o-y to $48.9 million. Excluding the impact of the preferential offering, the REIT’s distributable income would’ve declined by 3% y-o-y in INR terms and 12% y-o-y in SGD terms.
As at June 30, portfolio occupancy stood at 94% including CLINT’s options and right of first refusal (ROFR) in Block A. Excluding the options and ROFR, CLINT’s portfolio occupancy stood at 91%.
CLINT’s weighted average lease expiry (WALE) stood at 3.5 years as at the same period.
As at June 30, CLINT’s gearing ratio stood at 40% with an interest coverage ratio (ICR) of 2.7 times. About 73% of the REIT’s debt are on fixed rates and 60% hedged into INR.
Cash and cash equivalents as at the same period stood at $169.0 million.
Looking ahead, the REIT has begun the development of another multi-tenanted building (MTB 6) in International Tech Park Bangalore (ITPB), which is expected to add 0.8 million sq ft in leasable area. The construction is expected to complete in the second half of 2024.
Two of CLINT’s data centres in Navi Mumbai and ITPH have also commenced development, with the data centre in Chennai expected to commence in the second half of 2023. A fourth data centre in ITPB is also planned.
With the additions of Block A in ITPH and ITPP-H, CLINT’s portfolio leasable area stood at 19.2 million sq ft as at June 30, up from 15.5 million sq ft at the start of the year. CLINT also has a total development potential of 7.0 million sq ft.
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“We are pleased to announce that CLINT’s property income grew mainly due to higher portfolio occupancy which improved from 92% from the start of the year to 94% as at June 30… Excluding the impact of the preferential offering, the INR DPU is INR2.31 per unit which is lower by 3% on a y-o-y basis, while SGD DPU fell by 12% year-on-year to 3.76 Singapore cents due to SGD/INR currency movements,” says Sanjeev Dasgupta, CEO of the manager.
“In addition, we grew our portfolio leasable area significantly by 24% since the start of the year with the addition of Block A in ITPH and acquisition of ITPP-H. We believe these additions to our portfolio will provide steady returns to our unitholders,” he adds.
Unitholders will receive their DPUs on Aug 30.
Units in CLINT closed flat at $1.16 on July 28.
