SINGAPORE (Aug 8): The manager of IREIT Global has declared a 3.3% rise in distribution per unit (DPU) to 0.95 € cents for the 2Q19 ended June, bringing DPU for 1H19 to 1.84 € cents, some 1.1% higher than 1H18.
Income to be distributed to unitholders rose 1.4% to €11.8 million in 1H19.
However, in Singapore dollar terms, 1H19 DPU amounted to 2.93 cents due to slightly weaker SGD/EUR exchange rates. This was 0.7% lower than DPU of 2.95 cents in 1H18.
Based on IREIT’s closing unit price of 76.5 cents on the last trading day of the quarter, 1H19 DPU represented an annualised DPU yield of 7.7%.
1H19 gross revenue grew 1.6% to €17.5 million, from €17.2 million in 1H18.
Property operating expenses jumped 28.7% to €2.1 million on the back of property and facility management fees as well as repairs and maintenance expenses for the upkeep of properties.
Consequently, net property income slipped 1.2% to €15.4 million in 1H19, slightly lower than NPI of €15.6 million a year ago.
Finance costs more than doubled to €4.5 million in 1H19, largely due to one-off costs incurred in 1Q for the unwinding of previous borrowings.
As at end June, cash and cash equivalents stood at €22.5 million.
The portfolio WALE stood at 4.6 years as at June 30, 2019, an increase from 4.2 years as at March 31, 2019.
IREIT’s portfolio also witnessed a 4.3% quarter-on-quarter gain in the appraised value to €526.4 million as at end June.
“While the real estate investment market remains very competitive and future acquisitions may have some dilutive impact on distributions in the short term, building IREIT’s portfolio base is a necessary step for diversification and scale,” says Aymeric Thibord, CEO of the manager.
Units in IREIT closed half a cent higher at 77 cents on Wednesday.
