The manager of Ascendas REIT (A-REIT) has reported portfolio occupancy of 91.7% for the 3QFY2021 ended September, 0.4 percentage points higher than the 91.3% reported in the 2QFY2021 ended June.
On a y-o-y basis, the REIT’s portfolio occupancy dipped slightly from the 91.9% reported in the 3QFY2020.
The REIT’s portfolio occupancy was mainly boosted by improvements in its Singapore and Australia portfolios, and offset by a decline in its US portfolio.
Occupancy in the UK and Europe remained “healthy” at 98.2%.
See: Ascendas REIT attractively valued relative to other large-cap peers: DBS
The higher occupancy in Singapore was attributable to higher occupancy at 21 Changi South Avenue 2, Techplace I and 9 Woodlands Terrace.
Meanwhile, the higher portfolio occupancy in Australia was due to a new lease secured at 1 Distribution Place in Sydney.
The decline in the US portfolio was mainly due to lower occupancy at Perimeter Three in Raleigh.
The average portfolio rent reversion of leases renewed in the 3QFY2021 and year-to-date (y-t-d) FY2021 was 3.7% and 5.4% respectively.
Rental reversion for the FY2021 is expected to be in the “positive low single-digit range” due to the current market uncertainties.
A-REIT, for the 3QFY2021, reported a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 3.8 years by gross revenue.
The REIT’s aggregate leverage as at Sept 30 stood 0.2 percentage points lower q-o-q at 37.4%.
Its average debt maturity is said to be at 3.5 years as at end-September.
Units of A-REIT closed flat at $3.01 on Oct 19.