SINGAPORE (Apr 30): The manager of Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Manulife US REIT) has announced an 8.5% decline in distribution per unit (DPU) to 1.51 US cents for the 1Q ended March, from 1.65 US cents a year ago.
This was mainly due to an enlarged unit base following a rights issue, with some 299.3 million units issued on Oct 25, 2017.
Restated for rights issue, 1Q18 DPU was still 0.7% lower compared to 1Q17 DPU of 1.52 US cents.
This was largely due to lower income from Figueroa and Michelson resulting from lower occupancies in these properties and higher income taxes in 1Q18.
Gross revenue jumped 57.1% to US$31.2 million ($41.3 million) in 1Q18, from US$19.8 million a year ago.
This was largely due to the revenue contribution from the acquisitions of Plaza and Exchange, partially offset by lower income from Michelson and Figueroa.
Net property income grew 54.0% to US$19.7 million in 1Q18, from US$12.8 million a year ago.
Distributable income increased by 50.1% to US$15.6 million in 1Q18.
Based on committed leases, portfolio occupancy stood at 95.8% as at 1Q18, with less than 10.0% of leases by net lettable area (NLA) expiring in the next two years.
The REIT has a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) by NLA of 5.7 years, with 56.3% of the leases by NLA expiring in 2023 and beyond.
The REIT says its gearing of 34.1% is well below the regulatory limit of 45.0%, and provides debt headroom to grow the portfolio.
As at end March, cash and cash equivalents stood at US$35.3 million.
“As we continue to expand our footprint in the US in a prudent and sustainable manner, our latest set of financial results further reinforces our investment strategy of acquiring top quality assets that will deliver long term value to unitholders, while maintaining an appropriate capital structure,” says Jill Smith, CEO of the manager.
Units of Manulife US REIT last closed at 94 US cents on Friday.
