SINGAPORE - Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT) has posted distributable income (DI) of US$5.65 million, slightly higher than the US$5.58 million projection by 1.2 per cent in its maiden results.

Distribution per unit (DPU) was 0.650 US cent or 1.2 per cent higher compared to the projected 0.642 US cent for the reporting period, the company said on Wednesday (Aug 14).

EHT's managers said the results were for the period from the May 24, 2019 listing date to June 30, 2019.

EHT's portfolio comprises 18 full-service hotel properties in the United States, with a total of 5,420 rooms.

Net income (NI) was 0.1 per cent higher than projections. The higher DI and NI were mainly due to lower trust expenses arising from improvements in administrative costs and lower finance expenses, resulting from an easing interest rate environment.

Total revenue was slightly lower than projection by 1.3 per cent due to the short time period for ramp-up following the completion of the broader portfolio's significant renovation programme, it said.

Said Salvatore Takoushian, chief executive of the managers: "We are pleased to post an attractive set of results, including exceeding our DPU projections. We are encouraged by the progressive improvement in market share gains following the portfolio's significant renovation."

At a 104 per cent RGI, (revenue per available room index) the portfolio is about 6.8 per cent better than at the time of IPO (initial public offering), he said.

"We continue to remain focused on driving revenues and the pace of stabilisation through asset management initiatives in the coming quarters. Our proactive approach to capital management, including interest rate swap transactions, has provided insulationfrom future interest rate volatility with 93 per cent fixed rate debt, while positioning the Reit (real estate investment trust) for a meaningful savings in finance cost."

At 9.16am, EHT units traded at 71 US cent, up 0.5 US cent