Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust) has announced a weak set of results for the first half period ended June 30, no thanks to a challenging leasing environment.
Its distribution per unit (DPU) fell 9% to 4.2 cents, from 4.64 cents a year ago.
This was due mainly to a one-off reversal of dividend distribution tax (“DDT”) provision made in the last financial year, according to the trust.
The stronger Singapore dollar versus the Indian rupee also did not help, it adds.
a-iTrust’s income available for distribution also fell 9% y-o-y to $53.8 million from $59 million.
Its total property income declined 4% y-o-y to $95.4 million from $99 million.
However, its net property income rose 5% to $77.3 million versus $73.5 million in the previous corresponding period.
As at June 30, a-iTrust’s committed portfolio occupancy has fallen to 90%, from 91% as at March 31 and from 98% as at June 30, 2020.
The trust’s gearing ratio stood at 33%, and has total debt headroom of $980 million and cash of $178 million as at June 30.
Despite the “subdued” leasing environment, Sanjeev Dasgupta, CEO of a-iTrust’s manager, says the trust has renewed 1.8 million square feet in the first half of 2021.
“We have added new economy asset classes such as data centres and industrial into our committed growth pipeline to improve portfolio resilience,” he says in a July 28 statement.
“We will continue to seize accretive investment opportunities to strengthen portfolio diversification to deliver long-term sustainable returns to our unitholders.”
On July 28, a-iTrust closed flat at $1.45 with 1.7 million units changed hands.
