The manager of Mapletree Industrial Trust (MINT) has reported distribution per unit (DPU) of 3.30 cents for the 4QFY2020/2021 ended March, 15.8% higher than DPU of 2.85 cents the year before.
This includes the tax-exempt income of $7.1 million amounting to DPU of 0.30 cent, which was previously withheld in the 4QFY2019/2020.
DPU for the FY2020/2021 came in at 12.55 cents, 2.5% higher than DPU of 12.24 cents.
Gross revenue for the 4QFY2020/2021 increased by 18.9% y-o-y to $121.1 million mainly due to the consolidation of revenue from the 14 data centres in the US, previously held by Mapletree Redwood Data Centre Trust (MRDCT).
The higher revenue was partly offset by rental reliefs granted to eligible tenants who were affected by Covid-19 and the redevelopment of Kolam Ayer 2 into a high-tech industrial precinct.
Property operating expenses during the period increased by 24.2% y-o-y to $29.3 million due to additional operating expenses from the consolidation of the data centres and higher property maintenance expenses.
Accordingly, net property income (NPI) for the 4QFY2020/2021 increased by 17.3% y-o-y to $91.8 million.
As a result of the higher NPI, distributable income for the quarter grew by 2.3% y-o-y to $70.7 million.
Gross revenue for the FY2020/2021 stood 10.2% higher y-o-y to $447.2 million due to the consolidation of revenue for the 14 data centres in the US, as well as the inclusion of the full year income stream from 7 Tai Seng Drive.
Property operating expenses for the full year increased 9.6% y-o-y to $96.2 million due to additional expenses from the data centres and higher property tax.
FY2020/2021 NPI rose 10.4% y-o-y to $351.0 million.
FY2020/2021 distributable income rose 2.5% y-o-y to $295.3 million, mainly due to the higher NPI and distributions declared by joint ventures and partly offset by higher borrowing costs and manager’s management fees.
The REIT recorded a net loss after income of $45.8 million for the 4QFY2020/2021 compared to a profit of $170.7 million in the same period the year before due to the provision for deferred tax expense on the data centres in the US, and net fair value loss on investment properties and investment property under development recognised during the period.
As at March 31, the REIT’s average overall portfolio occupancy increased 0.6 percentage points q-o-q to 93.7% due to the completion of the acquisition of 8011 Villa Park Drive in Richmond, Virginia, in the US on March 12.
The REIT’s Singapore portfolio also saw higher average occupancy, improving by 0.7 percentage points q-o-q to 92.9% in the 4QFY2020/2021.
MINT’s weighted average lease expiry (WALE) as at March 31 stood at 4.0 years based on the date of commencement of leases.
As at end-March, MINT’s aggregate leverage increased to 40.3% from 37.3% as at Dec 31, 2020.
Looking ahead, the outlook for businesses in Singapore is registering signs of recovery.
CBRE also expects investment in data centres in North America to increase in 2021 based on strong revenue growth projection.
The REIT adds that its large and diversified tenant base with low dependence on any single tenant or trade sector will continue to underpin its portfolio resilience.
“FY2020/2021 was fraught with uncertainty and challenges for businesses because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We will continue to support our tenants through this uncertain period as they gradually recover from adverse global economic conditions,” says Tham Kuo Wei, CEO of the manager.
“Despite the challenging environment, MINT has demonstrated resilience, which is underpinned by its large and diversified tenant base. We remain focused on rebalancing the portfolio with accretive acquisitions and developments of high specification industrial facilities and data centres to enhance its resilience,” he adds.
Units in MINT closed 1 cent higher or 0.4% up at $2.82 on April 29.
