ARA H-Trust posts 6.5% rise in Q1 gross revenue to US$19.6m amid recovery

ARA US Hospitality Trust (ARA H-Trust) on Thursday posted gross revenue of US$19.6 million for the first quarter, up 6.5 per cent from US$18.4 million in Q4 2020.

This comes after a record pace of Covid-19 vaccinations and federal stimulus in the US, which lifted the hospitality trust's portfolio performance.

Gross operating profit came in at US$2.8 million, down 3.4 per cent from the previous quarter, according to a business and operational update.

The trust also attained positive net property income (NPI) amid the economic recovery, with the first quarter recording an NPI of US$0.4 million, a reversal from negative US$1.7 million last quarter.

Occupancy of ARA H-Trust's portfolio rose 2.9 percentage points to 42.3 per cent, up from 39.4 per cent in Q4 2020. Consisting of the Hyatt portfolio and the Marriott portfolio, the trust saw an 11.4 per cent rise in its revenue per available room (RevPAR) at US$39 in Q1, up from US$35 last year.

ARA H-Trust noted that its sequential quarterly changes indicated performance recovery.

As at March 31 this year, the trust recorded a net asset value per stapled security of US$0.60, and a cash balance of US$21.8 million. The stapled group's aggregate leverage ratio stood at 49 per cent, while weighted average debt maturity was at 2.7 years.

Total debt outstanding was US$355.9 million, up from US$354.7 million in the previous quarter. It also recorded 76.9 per cent of fixed debt as at March 31.

Stapled securities of ARA H-Trust closed half a US cent or 0.96 per cent lower at US$0.515 on Thursday.