ARA Logos Logistics Trust DPU up 35.7% to 1.353 S cents for Q1

ARA Logos Logistics Trust's distribution per unit (DPU) rose by 35.7 per cent to 1.353 Singapore cents for its first quarter ended March 31, from 0.997 cent in the first quarter of the previous year.

Excluding capital distributions in the quarter and including the S$2.5 million retained distributable income in Q1 2020, the adjusted DPU becomes 1.307 cents, up 6.6 per cent from 1.226 in the same period last year.

Gross revenue was up by 8.2 per cent to S$31.1 million for the three months, from S$28.8 million previously.

This came from the commencement of new leases at several properties and the strengthening of the Australian dollar generating higher revenue for ARA Logos' Australia portfolio, the trust said in a regulatory filing on Friday morning.

It posted net property income of S$23.9 million for Q1 2021, up 8.7 per cent from Q1 2020's S$22 million.

Distributable income declared to unitholders rose 59.3 per cent year on year, reaching S$17.3 million from its previous S$10.9 million.

Advanced distribution of 1.563 cents per unit for Jan 1 to April 15, 2021 will be distributed to unit-holders on May 28, the manager said.

Looking ahead, ARA Logos is optimistic that industrial and logistics transactions will continue to grow after having risen16.6 per cent year on year in 2020, a record high for the region. It noted that Australia's industrial sector has shown resilience over the past 12 months, as stockpiling in supermarkets and growth in online sales due to Covid-19 drove demand for warehouse space.

Singapore recorded stable leasing activities from e-commerce, central kitchens and precision manufacturing in Q1 2021, although it was a slight slowdown from the strong performance in Q4 2020, said ARA Logos.

The trust believes that Singapore's strategic location and developed IT infrastructure makes the city-state well-positioned as a key warehousing and storage hub amid the continuing distribution of Covid-19 vaccines this year.

It expects logistics properties, especially ones with temperature-controlled facilities, to benefit with price and rent increases in 2021.

Units of ARA Logos closed 0.7 per cent or half a Singapore cent higher at 75 cents on Friday.