Keppel Reit's Q1 DPU dips to 1.42 Singapore cents

KEPPEL Reit's distribution per unit (DPU) dipped to 1.42 Singapore cents for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 from 1.45 Singapore cents in the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Wednesday evening.

That came as Q1 income available for distribution edged up 0.2 per cent to S$48.2 million from the previous year.

For the three months ended March 31, gross revenue slipped 0.3 per cent to S$39.7 million from the previous year. Net property income dipped 0.6 per cent to S$31.2 million from the preceding year.

The variances were mainly attributable to lower gross revenue and net property income from 275 George Street in Brisbane. These were partially offset by higher gross revenue and net property income from Bugis Junction Towers and Ocean Financial Centre in Singapore and 8 Exhibition Street in Melbourne.

Keppel Reit units ended 2 Singapore cents higher at S$1.20 on Wednesday.

The manager of the Reit signed leases of about 674,100 sq ft (with attributable area of around 261,400 sq ft) in the first quarter of 2018. Of the total leases signed by attributable area, 23.3 per cent are new leases, 10.5 per cent are renewal leases and 66.2 per cent are review leases. (Review leases typically apply to long leases where rental rates are marked to market at certain times in accordance with their contracts.)

The average signing rent for the Singapore office leases was about S$10.05 per square foot per month for Q1 2018.

On the whole, new leasing demand during the quarter came from diverse sectors. In Singapore,the majority of leases were expansions in the legal sector, while in Australia, demand came from a government agency taking up space at 275 George Street in Brisbane.