Ascendas REIT’s DPU up 13.5% in third quarter

Ascendas REIT said its third quarter distribution per unit (DPU) grew 13.5 per cent.

The trust said in a statement that unit-holders will receive 3.27 Singapore cents per unit for the three months ended December, compared with 2.88 cents a year earlier.

This came on the back of higher gross revenue which rose 3 per cent to S$105.1 million.

Net property income for the period also increased 10 per cent to S$81.4 million.

Ascendas REIT said despite the challenging economic climate, the manager saw a healthy occupancy rate of 96.5 per cent.

Occupancy for the various sectors also continued to be higher than market average.

For the balance of the current financial year, about 97.9 per cent of A-REIT’s portfolio revenue is committed with a weighted average lease to expiry of about 4.8 years.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 18 Jan 2010