Ascott Reit 2Q DPU down 14% to 1.84 cents after one-off items, rights issue; distribution up 34%

Ascott Reit's Citadines City Centre Frankfurt contributed to the revenue boost. PHOTO: ASCOTT RESIDENCE TRUST

SINGAPORE - Ascott Residence Trust on Thursday (July 20) posted a distribution per unit (DPU) for the second quarter ended June 30 of 1.84 Singapore cents, down 14 per cent from 2.13 cents for the year-ago quarter.

For a same-store comparison, DPU would increase by 8 per cent from 1.95 cents in the second quarter of 2016 to 2.10 cents if one-off realised foreign exchange gains, the effects of a rights issue and equity placement were excluded.

Distributable income for the second quarter grew 34 per cent to S$46.9 million year on year. It included a one-off realised foreign exchange gain of S$11.9 million arising from the repayment of foreign currency bank loans.

Revenue for the quarter rose 4 per cent to S$123.6 million, mainly due to the additional revenue of S$3 million from Sheraton Tribeca New York Hotel and S$900,000 from Citadines City Centre Frankfurt and Citadines Michel Hamburg.

The increase was partially offset by a decrease in revenue of S$1.4 million from the divestment of 18 rental housing properties in Tokyo. On a same-store basis (excluding the 2016 acquisition, 2017 acquisitions and the divestment), revenue increased by S$1.7 million mainly from Vietnam and the Philippines, partially offset by the decrease in revenue from Singapore and Britain (arising from depreciation of the British pound against the Singapore dollar).

Revenue per available unit (RevPAU) rose 3 per cent to S$146.

Said Mr Bob Tan, chairman of Ascott Reit's manager: "Ascott Reit's asset size will expand to S$5.3 billion after we complete the acquisitions of DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York - Times Square South and Ascott Orchard Singapore, which are expected to take place in August 2017 and 4Q 2017 respectively.

"We continue to maintain a balanced portfolio across various geographies to provide stable returns to unit holders. We remain on the lookout for accretive acquisitions in gateway cities in markets such as Australia, Japan, Europe and the US."

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