Cromwell E-Reit Q4 DPU up 30.4% to 1.03 euro cents

CROMWELL European Real Estate Investment Trust's (Cromwell E-Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) rose 30.4 per cent to 1.03 euro cents for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2019, from 0.79 euro cent a year ago.

Gross revenue was up 64.2 per cent to 50.9 million euros (S$77.2 million) for the quarter, from 31 million euros a year ago. Net property income (NPI) grew 60.4 per cent on the year to 33.6 million euros for the quarter, from 20.9 million euros a year ago.

Income available for distribution to unitholders rose 52.6 per cent year on year to 26.3 million euros, from 17.2 million euros a year ago.

The Reit will pay out a distribution of 2.03 euro cents per unit for the period of July 2 to Dec 31, 2019, to unitholders on March 30, 2020.

Meanwhile, for the full year ended Dec 31, 2019, DPU was 8.8 per cent higher at 4.08 euro cents, versus 3.75 euro cents a year ago. Income available for distribution grew 42.6 per cent to 96.9 million euros. Gross revenue was 42.1 per cent higher at 177 million euros, while NPI increased 40.1 per cent to 116.1 million euros for the full year.

The Reit saw income contributions from newly acquired and onboarded office assets and better leasing performance in the Reit's light industrial or logistics portfolio, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday morning.

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Chief executive of the manager Simon Garing said that the manager expects Cromwell E-Reit's DPU for the financial year 2020 to be at or above fiscal 2019's DPU, barring unforeseen circumstances.

"The operating environment in Europe is highly competitive with ample capital chasing deals and preparing to pay premium prices. Nevertheless, our teams' in-depth local market knowledge and execution capabilities will serve us in securing accretive opportunities," he added.

The Reit's manager added that the impact of the Covid-19 virus in Europe has been minimal to date. However, given the recent developments in Italy, the European economy may face further headwinds.

"The property manager of Cromwell E-Reit has been proactive in implementing precautionary measures and is closely monitoring the situation on the ground," the manager said.

Units of Cromwell E-Reit were trading flat at 0.56 euro as at 9.50am on Tuesday, after the results were released.