A-HTrust Q2 DPS dips 5.5% in absence of divestment
Gross revenue is up 2.4%, mainly due to contribution from new hotels in Japan, S Korea
Singapore
ASCENDAS Hospitality Trust (A-HTrust) on Tuesday posted 2.4 per cent higher gross revenue for the second quarter ended September.
But its distribution per stapled security (DPS) declined 5.5 per cent, mainly because there was an absence of divestment.
A-HTrust's gross revenue stood at S$47.48 million, 2.4 per cent higher than S$46.37 million in the year-ago period. Net property income was 3.5 per cent higher year-on-year, having risen from S$20.46 million to S$21.17 million. This was mainly due to the contribution from the three WBF-branded hotels in Japan and ibis Ambassador Seoul Insadong that were acquired between September and December last year.
The increase was partially offset by the weaker performance of the Australia portfolio, and further exacerbated by weaker Australian dollar and Korean won against the Singapore dollar, said A-HTrust in a press statement.
Income available for distribution having taken into account working capital was S$15.72 million, 5.1 per cent lower than S$16.57 million a year ago.
A-HTrust posted a DPS of 1.38 Singapore cents, lower than the 1.46 cents for the corresponding period a year ago. This was mainly due to the absence of partial distribution of the partial proceeds from divestment made in the corresponding quarter last year. DPS will be paid on Dec 4.
Gross revenue and net property income for the first half of the financial year rose 2.9 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively, to S$93.99 million and S$42.42 million. But income available for distribution declined 4.9 per cent from S$31.86 million to S$30.29 million.
Overall gearing ratio as at Sept 30 was 33.8 per cent, with the average interest rate for the second quarter at 1.8 per cent and over 80 per cent of the borrowings on fixed rates. The weighted average debt maturity as at Sept 30 is 3.3 years.
The proposed combination of A-HTrust and Ascott Residence Trust was approved by stapled security-holders at the extraordinary general meeting and scheme meeting last week. Subject to the combination being sanctioned by the court, the last day of trading of the stapled securities of A-HTrust is expected to be Dec 16, and the expected delisting of the trust on Jan 3, 2020.
A-HTrust units ended flat at S$1.17 on Tuesday.
