SINGAPORE - Sabana Shari'ah Compliant Industrial Reit's (Sabana Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) for the first quarter dropped 14.8 per cent to 0.75 cent per unit from 0.88 cent a year ago.

Gross revenue fell 11.8 per cent year-on-year to $18.52 million, partly due to the divestment of its Tai Seng drive property in Q1 2019 as well as lower contribution from properties at 151 Lorong Chuan, 8 Commonwealth Lane and 34 Penjuru Lane.

NPI fell 13.3 per cent to $12.65 million largely on the back of reduced rental income from lower occupancies, including 151 Lorong Chuan where a "significant tenant" had a planned exit upon their lease expiry in Q1 2019. The amount available for distribution slid 14.6 per cent to $7.9 million in line with lower revenue and NPI.

Sabanah Reit sees as a "muted performance" in H1 2019 amid challenging market conditions, but expects an improved performance in the later part of 2019 or early 2020, following the proposed enhancement initiative of New Tech Park at Lorong Chuan.The DPU is payable May 30.

Units in the Reit closed at 42.5 cents on Thursday, unchanged