OUE Hospitality Trust DPS falls 32% in Q1 on rights issue

OUE Hospitality Trust said distribution per stapled security (DPS) fell 31.7 per cent in the first quarter from a year ago, following its recent rights issue.

DPS for the three months ended March 31, 2016 stood at 1.1 Singapore cents, compared to 1.61 Singapore cents. Excluding the rights issue, DPS in the first quarter of the year would have been 1.47 Singapore cents.

Income available for distribution was 7.9 per cent lower than a year ago at S$19.7 million, mainly due to lower retail revenue and higher finance expenses.

"Against the backdrop of a subdued global and local economy, the tourism industry continues to face headwinds in the near term as consumers and corporates are likely to be conservative in their travel expenditures," the trust said in a statement on Friday. "In addition, the hospitality sector will remain competitive with the expected supply of new hotel rooms."

The rights issue raised gross proceeds of about S$239 million.