Ascendas India Trust Q1 net property income up 5 per cent

ASCENDAS India Trust saw net property income rise 5 per cent in the first quarter to 2.11 billion rupees (S$38.4 million), from 2.02 billion rupees in the year-ago period.

In a business update after trading hours on Wednesday, the property trust attributed the increase to lower property expenses, but said it was partially offset by lower total property income.

Total property income fell 2 per cent year-on-year to 2.59 billion rupees due to lower occupancy, lower utilities and lower car park income due to the pandemic.

The fall in revenue, however, was partially offset by income from its Endeavour building at the International Tech Park in Bangalore. A tenant has physically moved into the newly completed building as at end-March 2021.

As at March 31, 2021, Ascendas India Trust's committed portfolio occupancy stood at 91 per cent. The weighted average lease term and weighted average lease expiry stood at 6.7 years and 3.7 years respectively.

Gearing ratio stood at 34 per cent and the trust had S$933 million of debt headroom available.

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The trust, which currently owns seven IT parks and one logistics park in India, said park population is at 7 per cent, with a further decline expected due to the second wave of Covid-19 in India.

Its parks, which spread across Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai, remain open to support tenants' operations. Construction works at all on-going projects have resumed, but delays are expected for some projects.

The trust has a current base of 287 tenants, occupying an average of 44,900 square feet each. The bulk of its tenants are from India and the United States. Its largest tenant accounts for 14 per cent of the portfolio base rent.

Rental reversions as at end-March 2021 ranged from 7-21 per cent at its various parks.

The trustee-manager expects growth based on a committed pipeline, projecting a 73 per cent increase in floor area under its portfolio, from the 14.4 million square feet as at end-March 2021.

Units in Ascendas India Trust ended Wednesday at S$1.48, down 1.33 per cent or S$0.02.