Stocks to watch: Ascott Reit, Viva Industrial Trust, SMRT, OUE Hospitality Trust

THE following companies reported their results either before the start of trading on Tuesday or after the market closed on Monday.

Ascott Reit: Ascott Residence Trust posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.07 Singapore cents for the fourth quarter of 2015, down from 2.16 cents in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

However, stripping out one-off items amounting to about S$6.1 million in Q4 2014, the adjusted DPU for Q4 2014 would have been 1.76 cents, or 18 per cent lower than the DPU for Q4 2015.

Revenue rose 26 per cent to S$119.17 million due largely to additional revenue of S$21.9 million from properties acquired in Q3 2015.

In line with higher revenue, gross profit increased 24 per cent year on year to S$56.79 million, while unitholders' distribution slipped 3 per cent to S$32.06 million as the corresponding quarter in 2014 included one-off items.

Viva Industrial Trust: Viva Industrial Trust reported a distribution per stapled security (DPSS) of 1.634 Singapore cents for Q4 2015, down from 1.701 cents in Q4 2014, missing the 1.79 cents forecasted in its initial public offering prospectus. This was despite a 20.6 per cent increase in distributable income to S$12.46 million.

The DPSS for the quarter did not increase proportionately with the increase in distributable income due to the dilutive effect of the issuance of about 233.4 million new stapled securities after two private placements and a preferential offering.

Gross revenue for the quarter was up 18.5 per cent to S$19.7 million, while net property income rose 24.5 per cent to S$13.73 million. Meanwhile, the DPSS for FY15 clocked seven cents, up from 6.833 cents in FY14.

SMRT: SMRT Corp's net profit jumped 63.5 per cent to S$36.86 million in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2015, driven by its improving non-rail businesses.

Group revenue grew 4.6 per cent to S$327.56 million on broad-based growth across most segments. Third-quarter earnings per share were 2.42 cents, up from 1.48 cents in the same quarter a year earlier. No dividend was declared for Q3.

OUE Hospitality Trust: OUE Hospitality Trust reported a 4.5 per cent drop in its distribution per stapled security to 1.7 Singapore cents for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2015. This was down from the 1.78 cents paid out a year ago. Gross revenue rose 8.6 per cent to S$33 million in Q4, while net property income rose 7 per cent to S$28.8 million.

The higher revenue and net property income are attributable to the contribution from Crowne Plaza Changi Airport which was acquired on Jan 30, 2015, it said.

However, lower contribution from Mandarin Orchard Singapore hotel and Mandarin Gallery resulted in distribution income falling 3.3 per cent to S$22.8 million.