MAPLETREE Industrial Trust (MIT)’s distribution per unit fell 2.9 per cent to S$0.0339 for the first quarter ended Jun 30, from S$0.0349 in the same period a year earlier.

This follows a private placement in May which led to an increase in the number of units in issue. 

The amount available for distribution to unitholders was down 2.5 per cent year on year to S$89.9 million, from S$92.1 million previously, MIT’s manager said on Wednesday (Jul 26). 

Net property income rose 0.7 per cent to S$130.8 million while gross revenue increased by 1.7 per cent to S$170.6 million for the April-to-June period, on contributions from new leases across various property clusters. 

MIT has a presence in Singapore and North America with a portfolio that includes data centres, high-tech buildings, factories and business park buildings.

Positive rental reversion was achieved across most property segments in Singapore, with a weighted average rental reversion rate of about 5.3 per cent. The average rental rate among MIT’s properties in North America also increased to US$2.41 per square foot per month in Q1, up from US$2.40 in the previous quarter.

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In May, MIT conducted a private placement, raising gross proceeds of about S$204.8 million which partially funded its S$507.9 million acquisition of a data centre in Japan. 

Tham Kuo Wei, chief executive officer of Mapletree Industrial Trust Management, said: “The addition of a high-quality data centre with a long-term lease to an established data centre operator will improve the stability of MIT’s income stream. We will press ahead with our portfolio rebalancing efforts as we navigate the macroeconomic headwinds.”

An advanced distribution of S$0.0248 per unit for the period between Apr 1 and Jun 5 was paid out to unitholders on Jul 6. The balance of S$0.0091 per unit will be paid at a later date. 

Rising operating expenses and borrowing costs could exert pressure on distributions, the manager said, adding it will adopt cost-mitigating measures while focusing on tenant retention to maintain a stable portfolio occupancy level.

Looking ahead, the manager expects a worsening outlook for Singapore’s manufacturing and wholesale sectors in the second half of 2023. In North America, while the data centre market has experienced rapid growth in recent years, data centre asset transaction volumes have declined amid uncertain macroeconomic conditions.

Units of MIT closed flat at S$2.29 on Wednesday before the announcement.