ARA LOGOS Logistics Trust (ALOG) reported Tuesday its third quarter net property income increased 13.9 percent on-year to S$26.09 million, boosted by the acquisition of the Australian portfolio in April 2021.
In addition, earnings got a boost from the relatively stronger Australian dollar in the quarter, compared with a year earlier, although that was partly offset by the divestment of Kidman Park in Australia and ALOG Changi DistriCentre 2 in Singapore in May and June, respectively, the trust said.
Gross revenue for the July-to-September period increased 15.1 percent on-year to S$33.97 million, the trust said in a filing to SGX.
The distribution per unit (DPU) fell 9 percent on-year to 1.329 Singapore cents in the quarter, from 1.461 Singapore cents in the year-ago quarter, the filing said. The number of units at end-September 2021 was at 1.45 billion, up from 1.09 billion at end-September 2020, after raising equity for the Australian portfolio acquisition from its sponsor, LOGOS, the trust said.
The distribution declared to unitholders increased 20.9 percent on-year to S$19.31 million, the filing said.
Karen Lee, CEO of the REIT’s manager, was upbeat on the results.
“Underscored by the resilient logistics market fundamentals, ALOG has continued to deliver a strong set of results despite the prolonged Covid-19 outbreak,” Lee said in the statement.
“This steady set of performance has reaffirmed our positive outlook towards the resiliency of the logistics sector, supported by long-term structural shifts in areas such as e-commerce and supply chain,” she added.
ALOG said it has secured and renewed leases on more than 171,000 square meters year-to-date, with a positive rental reversion of 3.2 percent. The portfolio occupancy was healthy at 97.6 percent, and would be at 98.6 percent after a new lease commitment secured in October, ALOG said.
ALOG said its portfolio valuation, taken in relation to its proposed merger with ESR-REIT, was at S$1.5 billion at end-September.
ESR-REIT has proposed acquiring ALOG, for a total consideration of around S$1.4 billion in cash and shares, in a deal which will create an industrial REIT with around S$5.4 billion in assets across Singapore and Australia, the REITs said earlier this month.
