A-REIT – BT

A-Reit gross revenue in Q3 up 3.7% to $109m

ASCENDAS Real Estate Investment Trust (A-Reit) yesterday posted gross revenue of $109 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2010.

This is 3.7 per cent higher than a year ago, as completed investments brought in additional rental income.

On the back of this, net property income rose 2 per cent to $83 million.

Operating expenses were higher as A-Reit’s portfolio grew, and as the government stopped granting land rent and property tax rebates.

Distributable income inched up 0.8 per cent to $61.7 million.

Distribution per unit (DPU) for the quarter rose 0.6 per cent to 3.29 cents.

For the nine months ended Dec 31, DPU was 9.96 cents, down 4 per cent from 10.37 cents a year ago.

The unit base had expanded, partly from a placement exercise in August 2009.

On a proforma basis, the nine-month DPU last year would have been 9.81 cents, translating to 1.5 per cent year-on-year growth.

A-Reit completed Phase 2 of Plot 8 Changi Business Park in December last year, achieving a revaluation gain of around $42.9 million.

Citibank will be leasing the entire property, and the lease will start progressively from February.

Work on A-Reit’s eleventh development project, a built-to-suit logistics facility next to the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore, has begun.

The estimated development cost is $35.9 million, and the project should be completed in the fourth quarter of FY2011/12.

A multinational company has committed to leasing the entire facility for an initial tenure of 10 years.

As at Dec 31, A-Reit’s portfolio occupancy rate was 95.6 per cent, up from 95.3 per cent the previous quarter.

Its aggregate leverage was 34.7 per cent. It has a debt headroom of $931 million before leverage hits 45 per cent.

A-Reit has about $457 million of debt maturing this year, and it said it is in the process of refinancing it.

The counter lost two cents yesterday to close at $2.16.