Keppel DC REIT has reported distributable income of $84.3 million for the 1HFY2021, up 12.4% y-o-y from $75 million.
Excluding an amount of capital expenditure set aside for certain properties, the REIT’s manager has declared a distribution amount of $80.4 million for the period. This translates to a distribution per unit (DPU) of 4.924 cents, 12.5% higher than the 1HFY2020’s 4.375 cents.
According to the REIT’s manager, the growth in distributable income was due mainly to contributions from the accretive acquisitions of Amsterdam Data Centre and Kelsterbach Data Centre in Frankfurt, as well as the completion of the asset enhancement initiative works at Keppel DC Singapore 5 and Keppel DC Dublin 1 in the 2H2020, and Keppel DC Dublin 2 and DC 1 in the 1Q2021.
The REIT posted gross revenue of $135.1 million for the 1HFY2021, up 9% y-o-y from $124 million.
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Property expenses for the period grew 16.2% y-o-y to $11.3 million, while net property income (NPI) for the 1HFY2021 totalled $123.8 million, up 8.4% from $114.2 million the previous year.
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Keppel DC REIT’s portfolio occupancy stood at 98% as at June 30m with a weighted average lease to expiry (WALE) of 6.5 years. Including the latest renewal lease signed in July 2021, Keppel DC REIT has only 0.8% of leases due to expire for the remainder of the year.
Looking ahead, the manager is cautious on “certain headwinds” to the global economic recovery due to further resurgences of Covid-19 cases. Nonetheless, the manager reiterates the resiliency of the data centre sector, underpinned by trends like smart technology implementation, big-data analytics and the increasing use of 5G.
Noting the REIT's recently expanded investment mandate to include real estate and assets that support the digital economy, the manager reiterates that Keppel DC REIT will maintain at least 90% of its assets in data centres.
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In April, Keppel DC REIT had announced the proposed investment in a special purpose vehicle which will own M1’s current mobile, fixed and fibre assets, through a combination of debt securities and preference shares.
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The manager also states it will continue to pursue third-party acquisition opportunities, as well as leverage Keppel Group’s capabilities in the design, development and management of data centres, to drive further growth.
Units in Keppel DC REIT closed 1 cent or 0.39% lower at $2.56 on July 26.
