Higher rents, lower operating costs boost Mapletree Industrial Trust's Q3 DPU

MAPLETREE Industrial Trust on Tuesday reported a 6.4 per cent increase in distribution per unit (DPU) to 2.67 Singapore cents for its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2014. This was slightly above the 2.51 cents that it paid out a year ago.

Higher rental rates secured for renewal leases in its flatted factories, business park buildings and stack-up/ramp-up buildings, as well as revenue contribution from its completed development projects boosted gross revenue by 3.3 per cent to S$78.13 million.

Coupled with lower property operating expenses, this helped net property income to rise 5.4 per cent to S$57.98 million. The real estate investment trust (Reit) said that it has employed a cost-saving initiative to work with licensed electricity retailers to bulk-buy electricity, which has resulted in lower utilities expenses.

Its average portfolio passing rent rose to S$1.83 per square foot (psf) per month in Q3, from S$1.82 psf/month in the preceding quarter. This was thanks to positive rental revisions for renewal leases as well as contributions from new leases in hi-tech buildings.

Its average portfolio occupancy fell marginally quarter-on-quarter from 91.5 per cent to 90.8 per cent in Q3, however. This was due to the progressive relocation of the tenants from the Telok Blangah Cluster, which will be redeveloped as a build-to-suit project for Hewlett-Packard Singapore.

The distribution will be paid by March 5. The book closure date is Jan 28.

On the stock market, Mapletree Industrial Trust rose 1.5 cents to S$1.58 before its results were announced.