Ascott Residence Trust declares S$0.00545 DPS for advanced distribution, Q3 RevPAU up 49%

ASCOTT Residence Trust (ART) on Friday (Oct 29) said it will distribute S$0.00545 per stapled security for its advanced distribution, made in connection with a S$150 million private placement completed in September.

The distribution will be paid on Nov 9. Holders of the new stapled securities issued as a result of the private placement are not entitled to the advanced distribution, the managers said in a business update on Friday.

They had in September said this was to ensure fairness to holders of the existing stapled securities, who might have otherwise had their semi-annual distributions diluted due to the private placement.

Giving an update on ART's third-quarter performance, the managers said portfolio revenue per available unit (RevPAU) rose 49 per cent from a year ago to S$70.

They attributed this to a higher average daily rate, while noting that average portfolio occupancy remained relatively stable.

Group bookings during the Olympic Games period lifted the performance of ART's properties in Tokyo, Japan. For the serviced residences under management contracts, RevPAU for the 3 months ended Sep 30 increased 108 per cent quarter on quarter to 5,278 yen (S$62.41).

Longer-stay properties continued to register high occupancies in Q3, with the Japan rental housing segment recording an occupancy of over 95 per cent and the maiden student accommodation asset in Georgia, US recording almost an 100 per cent occupancy.

The managers highlighted robust leisure demand during the summer season and weekends particularly in markets such as the US and Europe, which were able to welcome more international travellers as restrictions eased.

In Singapore, Citadines Mount Sophia Singapore and Riverside Hotel Robertson Quay are block-booked by the government for self-isolation purposes until February and March 2022, respectively. International visitor arrivals are expected to grow as Singapore reopens its borders.

The managers said they will continue to focus on increasing its asset allocation in longer-stay accommodation to 15-20 per cent for income stability. Rental housing and student accommodation currently comprise about 11 per cent of ART's portfolio value.

No master leases are expiring in 2021, though 2 are expiring next year. Negotiations for the 2 leases are ongoing.

Debt due in 2021 has been refinanced. Gearing as at end-September stood at 35.3 per cent, with debt headroom of S$2.1 billion.

The counter closed at S$1.03 on Friday, up S$0.01 or 0.98 per cent.