Cambridge Industrial Trust posts 18% drop in Q3 DPU

CAMBRIDGE Industrial Trust (CIT) reported a 18 per cent drop in distribution per unit (DPU) to 0.987 cents for the third quarter ended Sept 30.

Its net property income fell 8.3 per cent to S$19.9 million mainly due to higher operating expenses of properties converted from single-tenanted property to multi-tenancy, which is offset by revenue contribution from leasing and rental escalations of several properties.

"Despite challenging economic conditions during the quarter, I am encouraged to report steady progress in our strategy to divest non-core properties and recycle capital to optimise our portfolio and capital structure," said Philip Levinson, CEO of the real estate investment trust (Reit) manager.

"In this quarter, we have fully unencumbered our property portfolio and have no major refinancing requirements until H2 2018, which provide us with greater operational and financial flexibility."

As at Sept 30, occupancy for CIT's portfolio comprising 205 tenants remained stable at 93.6 per cent, with weighted average lease expiry improved to 3.8 years. Some 1.2 million sq ft of space was renewed in the first nine months of this year, with a negative rental reversion of 4.5 per cent.

The distribution payment date for the Q3 DPU will be Nov 30, with Nov 3 being the book closure date.