RHT Trust, formerly Religare, posts drop in Q1 DPU

RELIGARE Health Trust, which late last month renamed itself RHT Health Trust, posted a drop in distribution per unit (DPU) for its first quarter, citing higher taxes in India and a lower distribution rate decided by management.

Net profit sank 13.2 per cent to S$10.7 million from the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Wednesday evening.

For the three months ended June 30, revenue edged up 0.1 per cent to S$35.4 million from the previous year. The expansion in revenue was due largely to a contractual increase in base fees and higher variable fees due to higher operating revenue recorded by Fortis, it said. Healthcare provider Fortis Healthcare is the trust's sponsor.

Distributable income dipped 2 per cent to S$15.1 million from the previous year. "In addition, management intends to distribute 95 per cent of the distributable income for the current financial year," leading DPU "to drop even lower" compared with the corresponding quarter the preceding year, it said in its financial statement.

DPU slipped to 1.798 Singapore cents from 1.94 Singapore cents in the previous year.