DISTRIBUTION per unit (DPU) for Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) : ME8U 0% fell 0.9 per cent to S$0.0336 for its third quarter ended Dec 31 on an enlarged unit base, down from S$0.0339 in the year-ago period.  

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the DPU in Q3 was 1.2 per cent higher than the S$0.0332 in Q2, said its bourse filing on Thursday (Jan 25).

Gross revenue in Q3 was up 2 per cent to S$173.9 million, from S$170.5 million in Q3 FY 2022/2023. 

Net property income (NPI) grew 0.8 per cent year on year (yoy) from S$128.8 million to S$129.9 million for the quarter.

The increase in NPI was attributable to the contribution from the acquisition of a data centre in Japan, and new leases at the redeveloped property, Mapletree Hi-Tech Park @ Kallang Way. However, the gain was partially offset by loss of income from non-renewal of leases, said the manager.

Meanwhile, the amount available for distribution increased 3.1 per cent yoy to S$95.2 million, from S$92.3 million previously.

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The manager said this was due to higher net property income, coupled with the release of compensation from the compulsory acquisition of part of the land at 2 and 4 Loyang Lane for public use in December 2021, as well as the net divestment gain from 65 Tech Park Crescent, over two quarters from Q2 to Q3 FY 2023/2024.

The trust had an aggregate leverage ratio of 38.6 per cent as at end-December, with hedged borrowings of 79.5 per cent and weighted average hedge tenor of 3.6 years.

As at end-December, MIT’s portfolio consisted of 142 properties with a total value of S$9.2 billion.

Portfolio occupancy stood at 92.6 per cent, while the weighted average lease expiry of the portfolio is about 4.4 years. 

This was due to multiple new and renewal leases with an average lease term of 10 years in the Singapore and North American portfolios, said the manager. 

MIT said the Singapore portfolio had a positive average rental reversion of 7.2 per cent; the average rental rate was S$2.21 per square foot per month (psf pm) in the third quarter, up from S$2.19 psf pm in the previous quarter.

The chief executive officer of the manager, Tham Kuo Wei, said: “We will continue to build on our strengths through accretive investments and selective divestment of non-core assets, while focusing on prudent capital management and proactive tenant retention.”

In its outlook, the manager cited rising property operating expenses and increases in borrowing costs from the replacement of expiring interest-rate swaps as factors affecting distributions. 

“We will adopt cost-mitigating measures while focusing on tenant retention to maintain a stable portfolio occupancy level, as well as prudent capital management to balance the risks and costs in the elevated interest rate environment,” it added.

Units of MIT closed at S$2.44 on Thursday, down 1.2 per cent or S$0.03.