AA Reit Q4 DPU falls 5.4% to 2.63 S cents

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit (AA Reit) on Wednesday reported a lower distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.63 Singapore cents for the fourth quarter, from 2.78 Singapore cents a year ago.

This was partly due to an increase in units from a private placement of 42.1 million units in Dec 2017.

DPU in fiscal 2018 was 10.30 Singapore cents, down from 11.05 Singapore cents in FY 2017.

Excluding the effects from the private placement, DPU for Q4 2018 and FY 2018 would be about 2.75 cents and 10.46 cents respectively, the Reit said.

Gross revenue for Q4 2018 of S$28 million was 8.4 per cent lower than that recorded in Q4 2017. This was mainly due to lower rental and recoveries from 20 Gul Way as five phases of the property reverted to multi-tenancy leases, the expiry of the master lease at 3 Tuas Avenue 2, and lower occupancies at 27 Penjuru Lane.

This was partially offset by the rental contribution from 30 Tuas West Road as it generated income from Feb 27, 2017, and the rental contribution from the newly completed property at 8 Tuas Avenue 20 as it also became income generating in Q3 2018.

For fiscal 2018, gross revenue fell 2.7 per cent to S$116.9 million.

Net property income (NPI) for Q4 2018 fell 11.5 per cent to S$17.7 million, compared to the year before. NPI in FY 2018 declined 3.8 per cent to S$76.4 million.

AA Reit's distribution to unitholders was up 1.2 per cent to S$18 million in Q4 2018, while distribution to unitholders in FY 2018 was down 4.4 per cent to S$67.4 million from a year ago.

Separately, AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit Management, AA Reit's manager, announced on Wednesday that its assistant fund manager has decided to "pursue other interests".

Joanne Loh Li Phing, who is responsible for investor relations and portfolio management, will relinquish her role from July 10.

AA Reit was trading one Singapore cent higher at S$1.38 as at 12.17pm.