Parkway : C2PU 0% Life Real Estate Investment Trust : C2PU 0%’s (Parkway Life Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) rose by 3.3 per cent to S$0.0729 for its first half ended Jun 30, 2023, from S$0.0706 previous corresponding period.

On an annualised basis, H1 DPU was S$0.1458, up 3.3 per cent from S$0.1412 in the same period a year earlier, it stated in results released on Wednesday (Jul 26).

The rise in distributions came as gross revenue grew 23.6 per cent to S$74.4 million from S$60.2 million.

This was mainly due to contributions from five Japanese nursing homes acquired in September 2022, along with higher rent from the Reit’s Singapore properties, partially offset by a depreciation in the yen.

Net property income was 25.1 per cent higher at S$70.1 million from S$56 million in the previous corresponding period, while distributable income grew by 3.3 per cent on the year to S$44.1 million from S$42.7 million.

The distribution will be paid out on Aug 30, after book closure on Aug 3.

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The manager said the Reit realised around S$3.3 million in foreign exchange gains from the settlement of Japanese yen forward contracts in H1 2023, compared with the S$1.9 million realised in H1 2022. These partially offset higher management fees.

Finance costs also rose on the funding of capital expenditure and 2022 acquisitions. Higher interest costs from Singapore-dollar debts, however, were partially offset by the depreciation of the Japanese yen.

The Reit’s aggregate leverage stood at 35.3 per cent as at Jun 30, 2023, down from 36.4 per cent in the same period last year. This implies a debt headroom of between S$404.3 million and S$673.6 million.

Its weighted average lease expiry by gross revenue stands at around 16.7 years.

Yong Yean Chau, chief executive of the manager, said the Reit’s assets are well-placed to benefit from the growth of the healthcare industry in Asia-Pacific.

“The healthcare industry will remain critically essential in a rapidly ageing population with greater demand for better quality healthcare and aged care services,” he noted.

Units of Parkway Life Reit closed 0.8 per cent or S$0.03 higher at S$3.85 on Tuesday.