Ascendas Hospitality Trust (A-HTrust) yesterday announced a distributable income of $16.6 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31.

This was a rise of 33.2 per cent, compared with the same period a year earlier.

The results came on the back of better performance of the Australia portfolio, full quarter contribution from Ibis Beijing Sanyuan and new income from Park Hotel Clarke Quay, which was acquired in June.

The distribution per unit rose 3.9 per cent to 1.61 cents, compared with the same period a year earlier.

Mr Tan Juay Hiang, chief executive of the Managers of the trust, said: "Despite the challenging economic climate in Australia, our hotels there achieved an increase in revenue per available room of between 6 per cent and 18 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year."

This was due to the successful asset refurbishment programme and the rebalancing of guest mix to higher yielding market segments, he added.

During the quarter, the refinancing of loans for the Australia and Japan assets were completed ahead of maturity - Australia in July this year and Japan in June next year.

The weighted average debt maturity of the trust's loan portfolio was extended from 2.2 years to 3.7 years.

A-HTrust said that excluding the revolving credit facility due in July this year, it does not have any major refinancing for the next 12 months.

"The Managers will continue to hedge income up to 15 months forward to ensure stable payout to its stapled securityholders," it added.