Manulife US REIT (MUST) reported that its portfolio 'remains stable' in its 1QFY2021 ended March operational update, noting a portfolio occupancy of 92% that remains above the US Class A average of 82%, according to JLL.
In the May 11 update, the REIT highlights executed leases for the quarter amounting to 5.8% of the portfolio or roughly 270,000 square feet of net lettable area (NLA), mostly comprising of renewals, while weighted average lease to expiry (WALE) stood at 5.3 years. 62.8% of the REIT’s leases have in-place rental escalations of 2.1% per annum.
Meanwhile, gearing stands at 41.3% as of the 1QFY2021, with a weighted average interest rate of 3.18%.
SEE:Manulife US REIT obtains US$250 million sustainability-linked loan from DBS and OCBC
For its market outlook, MUST identified post-Covid-19 themes that are expected to underpin uplift, including acceleration of population and company migration, a growing tech sector, strong demand for healthcare and the fast developing knowledge economy.
To that end, the REIT is targeting ‘magnet cities’ that are attracting tech, life science and healthcare companies, in conjunction with markets that have attractive cap rates ranging from 6.5% - 7.5%.
While the recovery in the US economy should provide tailwinds for MUST, driven by vaccinations, an improvement in unemployment and the fiscal stimulus, potential headwinds for 2021 include continued abatements, low physical occupancies, and larger spaces that remain vacant and challenging to fill.
MUST notes that it intends to acquire yield-accretive properties in key locations with strong fundamentals to help drive transformational growth, with a target of at least 20% within high growth sectors.
Units in MUST closed 0.5 US cents (0.66 cents) or 0.67% higher at 75 US cents on May 10.
