Based on the Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Private Limited, the REIT’s trustee manager, Ascendas India Trust (A-iTrust) is having a 2.06 cents distribution per unit (DPU) for its financial quarter ended 30 June 2009, a 25 percent increased compared to the same period in 2008.
It said the A-iTrust’s cash regeneration stays firm, with $15.7 million distributable income for the latest quarter, which indicated an increase of 26 percent compared last year.
Net property income for the quarter was $18.3 million, an increase of 15 percent, while the total property income was $29.7 million, or 4 percent higher. Its distribution per unit of 2.06 cents for the first quarter of the year shows an annualised yield of 9.8 percent and 12 percent, respectively, over the ending prices of $0.84 and $0.69 per unit on 30 June and 29 July 2009.
As at 30 June 2009, gearing remained low at 9 percent.
Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Yap of the trustee-manager said, “The strong cash generation this quarter was made possible by the steady demand for space in our properties, as demonstrated by continued high portfolio occupancy of 97 per cent as at 30 June 2009”.
The portfolio of A-iTrust of 4.8 million square foot of completed space is evenly distributed among Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore.
The properties cover 246 renters working in IT sub-sectors like data centres, research and development, business process off-shoring, and software development.
As at 30 June 2009, occupancy rate for the portfolio was 97 percent. Only around 2 percent of the portfolio’s leases expired in the quarter, the rest has been renewed. In the current financing year, approximately 10 percent of space is due for renewal.
According to the REIT, it intends to replace or renew expiring leases beforehand. This scheme is to look for a balance between enhancing diversification and tenancy quality by introducing new tenants and maximising lease renewals to lower the leasing costs.