SINGAPORE - Parkway Life Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) on Wednesday (July 31) posted a 2.6 per cent increase in its distribution per unit (DPU) to 3.27 cents for the second quarter ended June 30, up from 3.19 cents in the year-ago period.

Gross revenue for the healthcare Reit grew 2.9 per cent to $28.9 million in Q2, while net property income (NPI) was up 2.3 per cent to $26.8 million.

This was mainly due to higher rent from the Singapore properties, revenue contribution from the Japan property acquisition in the first quarter of last year, and the appreciation of the Japanese yen.

Distributable income rose 2.6 per cent to $19.8 million for the quarter.

Based on the Reit's closing market price of $3.03 on June 28, the annualised distribution yield for the quarter was 4.32 per cent, up from 4.21 per cent a year ago.

For the half year ended June 30, gross revenue increased 2.5 per cent to $57.3 million, and NPI was up 2.3 per cent to $53.3 million from the previous corresponding period.

The half-year DPU stood at 6.55 cents, up 3 per cent from 6.36 cents a year ago.

As at June 30, Parkway Life Reit's gearing was 36.9 per cent.

Yong Yean Chau, chief executive officer of the Reit manager, said: "We are well-positioned to benefit from the long-term outlook of the industry, which continues to be driven by ageing population and demand for better quality healthcare and aged care services."

Parkway Life Reit owns a portfolio of 50 properties with a total size of $1.86 billion as at June 30. In Singapore, it owns Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital and Parkway East Hospital. In Japan, it has 46 healthcare assets, comprising one pharmaceutical product distributing and manufacturing facility as well as 45 nursing home and care facility properties.

Units of Parkway Life Reit closed flat at $3.06 on Tuesday.