Mapletree Industrial Trust Q1 DPU up 16.7% to 3.35 Singapore cents on US income boost

MAPLETREE Industrial Trust has bumped up first-quarter distribution per unit (DPU) to 3.35 Singapore cents, including an advanced distribution announced in end-May.

Taking into account the previous payout for April 1 to May 31, which was made ahead of issuing new units in a private placement and preferential offering, DPU for the quarter was up from the 2.87 Singapore cents paid out in the year-ago period.

Distributable income grew 17.2 per cent to S$82.7 million for the three months to June 30, with a boost from revenue from assets in the United States.

Net property income rose by 33.1 per cent to S$104.7 million, as gross revenue jumped by 29.2 per cent to S$128.1 million, Mapletree disclosed in its results on Tuesday.

The lift came on the consolidation of revenue from 14 US data centres previously held by joint venture Mapletree Redwood Data Centre Trust, as well as contributions from another data centre in the US, which was acquired in mid-March.

Meanwhile, net gains from the divestment of a data centre in Singapore's Ayer Rajah will be distributed over eight quarters from the second quarter, the manager said.

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The manager noted that average occupancy for the Singapore portfolio, which comprises 86 properties, improved quarter on quarter on higher occupancies for high-tech buildings, flatted factories and stack-up and ramp-up buildings, even as average rental rate picked up in the absence of rental relief for tenants.

Mapletree Industrial Trust also manages 28 properties in North America, including 13 data centres held through a joint venture with the owner of the manager.

Portfolio weighted average lease expiry by gross rental income stood at 3.7 years as at end-June, while average occupancy was 94.3 per cent. The trust had an aggregate leverage of 31.0 per cent, with weighted average debt tenor of 2.8 years.

Referring to the trust's US$1.32 billion acquisition of 29 US data centres on July 22, Tham Kuo Wei, chief executive of the manager, said in a statement that the latest portfolio addition "will help strengthen (its) resilience with the increased freehold land component and long leases with annual rental escalations".

The books will close on Aug 4. The DPU will be paid out on Sept 3.

Units closed at S$2.88 on Tuesday, before the results were released.