PLife – BT

PLife Reit’s distributable income up 14.4% in Q1

PARKWAY Life Reit (PLife Reit) has reported a 14.4 per cent rise year on year in distributable income to $14.3 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

Gross revenue for 1Q11 came in at $21.5 million, up 15.2 per cent, on the back of revenue contributions from new nursing homes in Japan acquired over the last 12 months as well as higher rent from its Singapore properties.

Distribution per unit (DPU) for the quarter is 2.36 cents per unit, versus 2.07 cents in 1Q10, while annualised DPU is 9.44 cents per unit for 1Q11 compared to 8.28 cents for 1Q10.

Earnings per unit for the quarter were 2.45 cents, up from 2.01 cents previously.

During the quarter, property expenses for 1Q11 rose 22.8 per cent to $1.77 million, in line with the bigger portfolio, while net property income was 14.6 per cent higher at $19.72 million.

Meanwhile, finance costs fell by 11.1 per cent to $2.27 million despite the enlarged portfolio, mainly due to interest cost savings from refinancing and re-pricing exercises, though this was offset by higher financing costs incurred to finance the Japan properties acquired in the middle of last year and January this year.

Gearing stands at 34.3 per cent.

In an update on its Japan properties, business continues as usual at all its 30 Japan properties with none of them located within the evacuation zone of the Fukushima nuclear plants, PLife Reit said.

It owns 33 properties in the Asia Pacific, including three hospitals in Singapore and 30 healthcare and healthcare-related assets in Japan. Its portfolio size stood at $1.3 billion as at March 31, 2011.

Yong Yean Chau, chief executive officer of Reit manager Parkway Trust Management, said: ‘The regional healthcare industry remains robust due to the persistent rise in demand for better quality private healthcare, driven in no small part by growing affluence, fast-ageing populations and increasing social acceptance of nursing homes. PLife Reit’s enlarged portfolio of healthcare assets places us in a good position to capture the demand of the resilient and growing healthcare industry in the Asia Pacific.’

Shares in PLife Reit closed at $1.72 yesterday, unchanged.