ESR-Reit posts 2.7% drop in Q4 core DPU to S$0.00721; manager sees improvement in leasing sentiment

THE manager of ESR-Reit J91U on Thursday (Jan 27) posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.721 Singapore cent for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021, down 14.2 per cent from a DPU of 0.84 cent paid out in the corresponding period a year ago.

This was due to the absence of an additional DPU of 0.099 cent that was paid in Q4 2020, which was part of the S$7 million of distributable income retained in Q1 2020 for "prudent cash flow management in view of Covid-19 uncertainties". Another 0.098 cent of this retained DPU had been paid out in Q3 2020.

Excluding the retained distribution, ESR-Reit's Q4 2021 DPU would have been 2.7 per cent lower, largely attributable to an enlarged unit base. The Q4 distribution will be paid on Mar 30, 2022, after the record date on Feb 8.