Mapletree S-Reits see strong performance amid active acquisitions

AMONG the constituents of the Straits Times Index, three S-Reits are members of the Mapletree family – Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust : N2IU 0%, Mapletree Logistics Trust : M44U 0%, and Mapletree Industrial Trust : ME8U 0% – and they make up a third of S-Reits’ representation in the index.

Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (MPACT) invests primarily in commercial assets for office and retail purposes across five key Asian markets, with total assets under management (AUM) of S$16.6 billion.

Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) invests in logistics assets across nine countries worldwide, with total AUM of S$12.8 billion.

Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) owns industrial and data centre assets both in Singapore and North America, with total AUM of S$8.8 billion.

All three S-Reits have reported full-year results for FY22/23 ended Mar 31, 2023 and saw stronger gross revenue and net property income (NPI) performance for the year.

MPACT reported the strongest growth in gross revenue and NPI among the three, with full year FY22/23 gross revenue and NPI rising 65.4 per cent and 62.6 per cent year on year (yoy) respectively.

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According to MPACT, the growth was mainly driven by contribution from properties acquired through the merger of Mapletree Commercial Trust and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust, as well as higher earnings from core assets, VivoCity and Mapletree Business City, which cushioned the increase in utility and finance costs.

This led to higher distribution per unit (DPU) of 9.61 Singapore cents for the year, up 6.1 per cent yoy (excluding the release of retained cash in FY21/22).

MPACT also reported stronger operational metrics, with portfolio committed occupancy at 95.4 per cent and positive rental reversion of 0.7 per cent. In particular, VivoCity’s full year tenant sales improved 30.6 per cent yoy, exceeding S$1 billion, which set a new record and surpassed pre-Covid levels.

MLT’s FY22/23 gross revenue and NPI grew 7.7 per cent and 7.2 per cent yoy to S$731 million and S$635 million respectively. As a result, amount distributable to unitholders grew 10.8 per cent yoy to S$432.9 million, while DPU rose 2.5 per cent to 9.011 cents on an enlarged unit base. In March this year, MLT announced the acquisition of eight modern logistics assets in Japan, Australia and South Korea for S$904.4 million as well as the potential acquisition of two modern logistics assets in China for S$209.6 million.

MIT reported a double-digit gross revenue growth for FY22/23, up 12.3 per cent yoy. This led to stronger FY22/23 NPI of S$518 million, an increase of 9.7 per cent yoy.

It was mainly driven by the contribution from the acquisition of 29 data centres in the US but partially offset by higher borrowing costs.

However, DPU for the year fell by 1.7 per cent to 13.57 cents due to an enlarged unit base.

MIT recently also completed a private placement, raising over S$200 million to partially fund its latest acquisition of a newly built data centre in Osaka, Japan, which came at a purchase consideration of 52.0 billion yen (approximately S$507.9 million).

The private placement was approximately 4.5 times covered at S$2.212 per new unit. This marks MIT’s first foray into the Japanese data centre market, further diversifying its portfolio.

Post-acquisition, Japan will account for about 5.5 per cent of MIT’s portfolio by AUM, with North America and Singapore representing the remaining 47.6 per cent and 46.9 per cent respectively. SGX RESEARCH

The writer is a research analyst at SGX.

For more research and information on Singapore’s Reit sector, visit sgx.com/research-education/sectors for the monthly S-Reits & Property Trusts Chartbook.

Source: SGX Research S-Reits & Property Trusts Chartbook.