Cambridge Industrial Trust's Q1 DPU down 9.2% to 1.112 Singapore cents

CAMBRIDGE Industrial Trust's (CIT) distribution per unit (DPU) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2016, fell 9.2 per cent to 1.112 Singapore cents, from 1.225 cents in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Gross revenue, however, rose 3.2 per cent to S$28.37 million, and net property income rose 1.2 per cent to S$21.5 million.

As for its outlook the financial year ending Dec 31, 2016, CIT said that approximately 20.2 per cent of CIT's leases are due for renewal in FY2016, of which 13.1 per cent (eight properties) are for single-tenanted buildings and 7.1 per cent are for multi-tenanted buildings.

CIT's manager expects to convert one of the single-tenanted buildings to a multi-tenanted one. It also intends to renew or enter into new leases for four properties, deploy asset enhancements to one property, and divest two properties.

"For 2016, the Manager expects the industrial leasing market to remain soft in view of the weak demand and rents to remain under pressure from increased competitions. The conversion of properties from single tenancy to multi-tenancy is also expected to continue to have a negative impact on portfolio occupancy and net property income during 2016. Hence, the Manager will continue to focus on tenant retention, cost savings measures and proactive asset management," said CIT.