First Reit’s Q3 DPU falls 6.1% to S$0.0062

FIRST Real Estate Investment Trust (First Reit) posted a 6.1 per cent drop in distribution per unit (DPU) for the third quarter to S$0.0062, from S$0.0066 in the same period last year.

This brought DPU for the nine months ended Sep 30 to S$0.0186, down 6.1 per cent year on year from S$0.0198, the manager said in a business update on Wednesday (Nov 1).

The drop in DPU comes as rental and other income for the nine-month period inched up slightly by 0.6 per cent to S$81.4 million, from S$80.9 million in the year-ago period.

Net property and other income, however, stayed flat at S$79.1 million, mainly due to a rise in property expenses from portfolio growth.

Excluding FRS 116 adjustments, rental and other income rose 3 per cent on the year to S$69.6 million from S$67.6 million. Net property and other income, meanwhile, was up 2.4 per cent to S$67.4 million from S$65.8 million in the same period last year.

The manager noted healthy underlying growth from the Reit’s Indonesia and Japan properites. Rental and other income from its hospitals in Indonesia climbed 8.8 per cent on the year to 515.3 billion rupiah (S$44.3 million) during the nine-month period.

Meanwhile, rental and other income from its Japanese nursing homes jumped 41.9 per cent year on year to 1.1 billion yen (S$10 million), following a full period of contributions from the 12 nursing homes acquired in March 2022 and two acquired in September 2022. 

The Reit’s distributable amount slipped 1.2 per cent year on year to S$38.4 million from S$38.8 million, following higher finance costs and the depreciation of foreign currencies against the Singapore dollar.

The distribution for Q3 will be paid on Dec 22, after books closure on Nov 9.

SEE ALSO

First Reit posts 6.1% drop in H1 DPU on higher finance costs, one-off increase in unit base

Brokers’ take: DBS initiates coverage on First Reit with ‘buy’

First Reit’s Q1 DPU down 6.1% on higher financing costs, forex losses

The Reit’s gearing stood at 39 per cent as at Sep 30, 2023, up slightly from 38.5 per cent as at Dec 31, 2022. Around 85.9 per cent of its debt is on fixed rates or hedged.

There are no refinancing requirements until May 2026, the manager noted.

Units of First Reit ended flat at S$0.235 on Wednesday.