Keppel REIT reported Wednesday its third quarter net property income increased 17.6 percent on-year to S$33.17 million. The results missed Daiwa’s forecasts slightly.
Gross property income for the quarter ended 30 September increased 15.6 percent on-year to S$42.38 million, the REIT said in a filing to SGX.
The distribution per unit (DPU) was 1.40 Singapore cents, up 2.9 percent from 1.36 Singapore cents in the year-ago quarter, the REIT said.
Daiwa had forecast net property income of S$35.2 million on revenue of S$43.8 million, with a DPU of 1.43 Singapore cents.
“The improved performance was due mainly to a full quarter contribution from T Tower in Seoul, higher average portfolio rentals, capital gains distribution of S$2.0 million for the third quarter of 2019, and the DPU-accretive unit buy-back program,” the REIT said. “The increase was partially offset by the absence of rental support and lower contribution from Ocean Financial Centre following the divestment of a 20 percent stake.”
Rental support for Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3 was fully drawn in the first quarter of this year, the filing said. In the third quarter, around 13.6 million units were purchased and cancelled under the REIT’s unit buy-back program, it added.
Committed occupancy for the portfolio was “healthy” at 98.9 percent as of end-September, the REIT said.
For the nine-month period, Keppel REIT reported net property income fell 6.9 percent on-year to S$95.54 million on gross property income of S$122.31 million, down 4.5 percent on-year. The decrease was mainly due to year-earlier one-off income for the early surrender of leases, the filing said.
The DPU for the January-to-September period was 4.18 Singapore cents, down 0.5 percent from 4.20 Singapore cents in the year-ago period, the REIT said.
