Parkway Life Reit's Q2 DPU up 15.6% to 3.35 cents

PARKWAY Life Reit on Tuesday morning said that its distribution per unit (DPU) for the second quarter is 3.35 Singapore cents, up 15.6 per cent from a year ago.

The healthcare Reit saw gross revenue grow by 1.2 per cent to S$25.65 million for the three months ended June 30, as full quarter rental contribution from seven new properties helped to offset the loss in income from seven assets that had been divested. Net property income rose 1.5 per cent to S$24 million.

The Reit manager said that the Reit has taken pre-emptive steps to refinance and term out its long term loans due in second quarter of 2016, as well as some of its short term loans. It therefore has a "well spread out" debt maturity profile with the weighted average term of maturity extended from 3.6 years as at March 31 to 4.0 years. Its effective all-in cost of debt is 1.5 per cent, it added.

Gearing stood at 34.1 per cent, with "ample debt headroom" for growth.

The healthcare sector remains resilient due to robust demand for nursing homes in Japan and a growing healthcare industry in the region, said the Reit manager.

"As a first mover and entrenched player in the Japan market, we plan to consolidate our assets in Japan to generate operating synergies and achieve greater cost savings," said Yong Yean Chau, CEO of the manager. "Our enlarged portfolio of 47 high-quality healthcare and healthcare related assets also puts us in a favourable position as we continue to optimise our portfolio."