Sabana Reit Q1 gross revenue falls 4.4%; DPU unchanged at 0.88 Singapore cent

LOWER contributions from some of its properties, cushioned by reduced property expenses, dented results for landlord Sabana Shari'ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana Reit) in its first quarter.

Distribution per unit was flat at 0.88 Singapore cent, in line with a decision made out of goodwill by the manager to to forgo 20 per cent of its fees, or S$238,000. If not for that, DPU would have been 0.86 cent, up from 0.80 cent.

Q1 income available for distribution slipped 0.8 per cent to S$9.2 million from the previous year.

Gross revenue slid 4.4 per cent to S$21.0 million from the preceding year, due to lower contribution from some properties and non-contribution from the vacant 1 Tuas Avenue 4. It was partially offset by the recovery of rental arrears from the previous master tenant of 6 Woodlands Loop - divested in March 2018 - and higher contribution from 10 Changi South Street 2 and 39 Ubi Road 1.

Sabana Reit said in a statement that overall rent reversions for 2018 are likely to remain negative, with JTC data showing continued oversupply and island-wide vacancy of 11.1 per cent.

It has renewed one of the six master leases, the bulk of which are expiring at the end of this year, and is proactively managing the remaining five leases, it said.

It plans to boost occupancy with its outreach to real estate agents and tenants, and review and identify other non-core assets for divestment.

Sabana Reit units finished S$0.005, or 1.2 per cent, lower at S$0.425 on Monday.