SINGAPORE (May 11): The trustee-manager of Dasin Retail Trust (DRT) has announced a 1Q18 distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.83 cents, up 23% from its 1Q17 DPU of 1.49 cents on the near-doubling of revenue, and after factoring in a waiver.
To recap, two major unitholders of DRT have agreed to not receive distributions for some of the REIT’s units they own, which means higher distributions for other unitholders.
Without the distribution waiver, 1Q DPU would have risen 43% to 0.96 cent from 0.67 cent a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter nearly doubled to $18.5 million from $10 million in 1Q17 on contributions from Shiqi Metro Mall, which DRT completed its acquisition of in June 2017.
The strong revenue performance was further boosted by positive impacts from recognising future rent escalation contained in all leases of DRT’s initial portfolio on a straight-line basis.
With income growth from all of Dasin’s portfolio malls with the exception of Dasin E-Colour, which registered 12% lower net property income (NPI) to $0.5 million in SGD terms, overall NPI for DRT grew 86% to $14.9 million from $8 million a year ago.
Zhang Zhencheng, Chairman of DRT’s trustee-manager, says he expects the planned development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area to improve regional economic growth as well as enhance Zhongshan’s economy going forward.
“The trust’s properties are strategically located within the heart of the Bay area, which puts the trust in good stead to capitalise on the growth of the region,” says Zhang.
Units in DRT closed flat at 87 cents on Thursday.
