Manulife US Reit beats Q4 DPU forecast

MANULIFE US Reit has beat its own forecast by 3.6 per cent by posting a fourth-quarter distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.54 US cents.

Its DPU of 3.55 US cents for the period from the date of listing on May 20 to Dec 31, 2016, also exceeded its forecast by 4.8 per cent.

This came on the back of higher-than-expected net property income.

For the period from May 20 to Dec 31, net property income was one per cent higher than forecast at US$29.97 million due to higher rental and other income, and lower property expense, partially offset by lower recovery revenues.

Manulife US Reit, the only pure US office play here, said that market conditions continue to be generally favourable in the three markets that it has invested in, with minimal new supply and rising market rents.

"Moving forward, the manager will continue proactively to manage the Reit's assets and search for yield accretive investment opportunities, which will further strengthen the performance of the property portfolio," it said.

The distribution of 3.55 US cents per unit for the period May 20 to Dec 31 will be paid out on March 30 this year.