SINGAPORE (May 10): The manager of EC World Real Estate Investment Trust (ECW) declared a distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.469 cents for the 1Q ended March, down 4.7% from the DPU of 1.541 cents a year ago.
This was as a result of withholding tax incurred during the cash repatriation exercise completed in March. The manager says no further such exercise is planned for the remainder of FY18.
Excluding the withholding tax, 1Q DPU would have been 1.570 cents, some 1.9% higher than a year ago.
1Q18 revenue edged up by 1.2% to 23.9 million, from $23.7 million a year ago, mainly due to strengthening of the renminbi.
Net property income dipped marginally by 0.5% to $21.5 million in 1Q18, mainly due to higher property maintenance and repair expenses.
The committed portfolio occupancy remains at 100% while the portfolio’s weighted average underlying end-tenant occupancy by net lettable area was 97.5% as at March 31.
As at end March, cash and cash equivalents stood at $85.7 million.
The manager says ECW’s aggregate leverage remains relatively low at 28.9% as at end March, providing the REIT with ample debt headroom for growth and future acquisitions.
Looking ahead, the manager says it continues to focus on expanding its portfolio and footprint by sourcing for yield accretive acquisition opportunities both in China and in key high growth markets in Southeast Asia along the Belt and Road corridor.
Units of EC World REIT closed half a cent higher at 73.5 cents on Thursday.
