CapitaLand Ascendas Reit’s portfolio occupancy rises to 94.5% in Q3
Raphael Lim
CAPITALAND Ascendas Reit (Clar) reported on Friday (Oct 27) a slight increase in portfolio occupancy for its third quarter, as it also continued to register positive portfolio rental reversions.
Portfolio occupancy as at Sep 30, 2023, rose to 94.5 per cent, from 94.4 per cent three months earlier, the manager said in a business update filed on the Singapore Exchange. No details on revenue or distributions were provided in the third-quarter update.
Clar’s manager said that occupancy in its Singapore assets rose 0.4 percentage point quarter on quarter to 92.7 per cent, while occupancy in the United States remained flat at 92.1 per cent. However, occupancy fell slightly in Australia, United Kingdom and Europe over the same period, but remained at 99 per cent or higher.
Meanwhile, Clar’s portfolio rental reversion was 10.2 per cent for the third quarter, lower than the 18 per cent reversions reported for the second quarter. The manager added that rental reversion for FY2023 is expected to be in the “positive high-single digit range”.
The real estate investment trust’s (Reit) aggregate leverage rose to 37.2 per cent as at end-September, up from 36.7 per cent three months earlier, but the manager noted that the aggregate leverage was “healthy”.
The Reit’s interest cover ratio fell to four times as at end-September, down from 4.3 times in June. The Reit’s weighted average all-in debt cost remained steady at 3.3 per cent, and some 80.6 per cent of its total debt was hedged to fixed rates.
Clar’s manager pointed out that its financial metrics exceed bank loan covenants by a “healthy margin”.
In terms of outlook, Clar’s manager expects high interest rates, inflation and global economic uncertainties to continue to pose challenges, which may have an impact on tenants’ businesses as well as on the Reit’s operating costs.
“The manager is committed to proactively manage these challenges in a prudent manner and is well-positioned to leverage on Clar’s healthy balance sheet to capture any growth opportunities that may arise, delivering long-term sustainable returns to unitholders,” it said.
Clar units rose 0.4 per cent, or S$0.01, to S$2.51 on Friday before the announcement.
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