Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) has reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.268 cents for the 2QFY2023/2024 ended Sept 30, 0.9% higher y-o-y.
The slight y-o-y increase was attributed to the REIT’s resilient portfolio as well as contributions from acquisitions as well as divestment gains of $8.8 million.
Distributable income for the quarter rose by 4.2% y-o-y to $112.5 million but was mitigated by the enlarged unit base.
MLT’s DPU for the 1HFY2023 stood at 4.539 cents, up 0.5% y-o-y while distributable income rose by 3.6% y-o-y to $224.5 million.
Gross revenue for the 2QFY2023/2024 rose by 1.5% y-o-y to $186.7 million while its net property income (NPI) rose by 1.2% y-o-y to $162.0 million. The growth was due to higher contributions from MLT’s existing assets mainly in Singapore and Hong Kong. The increase was also attributed to contributions from the recent acquisitions in Japan, Australia and South Korea and partly offset by a weaker performance in China and revenue loss from properties that were divested or were undergoing development.
The overall growth was also dampened by the depreciation of various currencies including the Chinese yuan (CNY), Japanese yen (JPY), Hong Kong dollar (HKD) and Australian dollar (AUD) against the Singapore dollar (SGD).
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On a constant currency basis, revenue and NPI would have grown by 6.1% and 5.7% y-o-y respectively.
At the distribution level, the REIT mitigated the impact of weakening currencies through the use of foreign currency forward contracts to hedge the income from overseas assets.
As at Sept 30, portfolio occupancy fell by 0.2 percentage points q-o-q to 96.9%. The portfolio’s average rental reversion stood at a positive 0.2%.
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Weighted average lease expiry (WALE) as at Sept 30 stood at 3.0 years by net lettable area (NLA).
Aggregate leverage fell by 0.6 percentage points q-o-q to 38.9%. Debt hedged into fixed rates stood at 83%.
As at Sept 30, cash flows from operating activities stood at $144.5 million.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $302.5 million.
“The geopolitical and economic environment remains challenging. At the operational level, our diversified portfolio continues to be resilient with high occupancy and strong tenant retention. However, higher borrowing costs and weaker regional currencies continue to impact our financial performance,” says Ng Kiat, CEO of the manager.
“We remain very active on the rejuvenation front, with over $900 million of acquisitions and $150 million of divestments announced or completed year-to-date, and over $370 million of ongoing asset enhancement initiatives (AEIs). There will be more in the pipeline. Our commitment to greening our portfolio has also seen good progress. Management will remain vigilant and proactive in these uncertain times,” she adds.
Unitholders will receive their DPUs on Dec 19.
Units in MLT closed 4 cents higher or 2.76% up at $1.49 on Oct 23.
