Keppel REIT reports 2.1% drop in 1Q DPU to 1.39 cents

SINGAPORE (Apr 17): The manager of Keppel REIT has declared distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.39 cents for the 1Q19 ended March, some 2.1% lower than DPU of 1.42 cents a year ago.

Distributable income fell 1.9% to $47.3 million for 1Q19, from $48.2 million a year ago.

The decline was mainly attributable to the impact of occupancy changes, a weaker Australian dollar, and lower income contribution from Ocean Financial Centre following the divestment of a 20% stake in mid December 2018.

1Q19 property income edged up by 0.7% to $40.0 million, from $39.7 million a year ago.

The increase was mainly attributable to higher one-off income received from certain tenants, which saw other income more than quadruple to $3.0 million, from $0.7 million a year ago.

This was partially offset by lower property income and net property income from Ocean Financial Centre and Bugis Junction Towers after excluding attributable one-off income.

Property expenses rose 2.3% to $8.7 million, from $8.5 million a year ago.

Consequently, net property income for 1Q19 was marginally higher at $31.3 million, compared to $31.2 million a year ago.

Share of results of associates fell 6.5% to $19.3 million, from $20.6 million a year ago, while share of results of joint ventures fell 8.5% to $7.2 million, from $7.8 million a year ago.

As at the end of 1Q19, Keppel REIT’s portfolio committed occupancy was 98.7%, with weighted average lease expiry (WALE) for the portfolio at approximately 5.7 years.

As at end March, cash and cash equivalents stood at $105.0 million.

Looking ahead, the manager of Keppel REIT says it remains focused on achieving long‐term growth as well as delivering stable and sustainable distributions to unitholders amid an uncertain macro‐economic environment.

The REIT manager adds that it will seek to continue its ongoing portfolio optimisation.

Unit of Keppel REIT closed 1.6% lower at $1.24 on Wednesday, before the 1Q19 results were announced.