SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - United States office-focused Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Manulife US Reit) said on Monday (May 9) that portfolio occupancy for the first quarter ended March 31 dipped to 91.7 per cent, down 0.6 percentage point from 92.3 per cent as at end-2021.

Occupancy remained above the US Class A average of 83 per cent, its manager noted.

With a long -weighted average lease expiry of five years, the Reit manager expects positive rental reversion, it said in an operational update.

The Reit has about 68,000 sq ft of executed leases, with 3.9 per cent rental reversion. More than half, or 54 per cent of total leases, were new, while the remaining 46 per cent were renewed leases. Sectors leasing its properties include accounting, real estate and finance and insurance companies.

About 6.4 per cent of leases by gross rental income will expire this year. A majority of leases (49.4 per cent) by gross rental income will expire in 2027 and beyond.

Physical building occupancy fell to 25.3 per cent in Q1 2022, down from 29 per cent in Q4 2021. However, the Reit manager noted that physical occupancy reached 34 per cent in April.

The Reit's weighted average debt maturity stood at 2.6 years as at March 31.

Its weighted average interest rate was 2.86 per cent. The manager noted that every 1 per cent increase in interest rate will impact the Reit's distribution per unit by US$0.00075.

Gearing meanwhile, was 42.8 per cent, based on gross borrowings as a percentage of total assets.

The counter closed one US cent, or 1.6 per cent, lower at 61.5 US cents on Friday.