Keppel DC REIT has reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 9.383 cents for the FY2023 ended Dec 31, 2023, 8.1% lower y-o-y. DPU for the 2HFY2023 fell by 16.1% y-o-y to 4.332 cents.
Distributable income for the FY2023 fell by 9.3% y-o-y to $167.7 million while distributable income for the 2HFY2023 fell by 18.5% y-o-y to $76.4 million. The declines were attributable to higher finance costs and loss allowances for the uncollected rental income from the Guangdong data centres.
During the FY2023 and 2HFY2023, the REIT also registered net lower contributions from some of its Singapore colocation assets due to higher facilities expenses and less favourable foreign exchange (forex) hedges. This was partly offset by positive reversions and escalations, contributions from acquisitions made in the FY2022, higher finance income and tax savings.
Gross revenue for the FY2023 rose by 1.4% y-o-y to $281.2 million as gross revenue from all of the REIT’s markets – except Singapore and Australia – rose. Meanwhile, FY2023 net property income (NPI) fell by 3.0% y-o-y to $245.0 million from a 46.3% y-o-y surge in property expenses.
Gross revenue for the 2HFY2023 fell by 0.7% y-o-y to $140.7 million. 2HFY2023 NPI was down by 9.1% y-o-y to $117.6 million on the back of the 85.6% y-o-y spike in property expenses.
As at Dec 31, 2023, portfolio occupancy stood at 98.3% while weighted average lease expiry (WALE) stood at 7.6 years by area.
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The REIT’s aggregate leverage stood at 37.4% as at Dec 31, 2023; its interest coverage ratio (ICR) stood at 4.7 times.
As at Dec 31, 2023, the REIT has over $2 billion worth of potential assets for acquisitions, which are data centre assets under development and management from Keppel, as well as Keppel’s private data centre funds.
Looking ahead, the REIT manager expects to see continued demand for data centres on the back of the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) as well as other modern technologies. It adds that it will continue to pursue growth opportunities in key international data centre hubs and drive growth through active asset management and portfolio optimisation.
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Unitholders will receive their DPUs on March 11.
Units in Keppel DC REIT closed at $1.80 on Jan 25.
