[SINGAPORE] Keppel Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) on Wednesday (Jul 30) reported a 2.9 per cent decline in its distribution per unit (DPU) for the first half of the 2025 financial year to S$0.0272, from S$0.0280 in the corresponding year-ago period.
Distributable income from operations fell by 1.4 per cent to S$95.5 million for the period from S$96.9 million in H1 FY2024.
It also highlighted that distributable income, including the anniversary distribution for H1 fell by 1.3 per cent year on year to S$105.5 million, in light of the payment of 25 per cent of management fees in cash.
The distribution will be paid out on Sep 15, with its record date on Aug 7.
Property income rose 9.1 per cent to S$136.5 million from S$125.1 million in the same period a year prior. This is largely due to contribution from assets in Sydney, Australia, namely 255 George Street acquired in May 2024, and higher occupancy at 2 Blue Street, said the Reit manager in a bourse filing on Wednesday.
Net property income (NPI) increased by 11.8 per cent year on year to $108.3 million for H1, from S$96.8 million in the corresponding period a year before.
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Gearing stood at 41.7 per cent as at Jun 30, with 63 per cent of its total borrowings on fixed rates. The weighted average cost of debt was 3.51 per cent per annum for H1, and an interest coverage ratio of 2.6 times.
There are no significant borrowings maturing for the remainder of 2025, according to the manager of the Reit.
Portfolio weighted average lease expiry was 4.8 years, as compared with 4.7 years as at Mar 31.
The trust’s S$9.4 billion portfolio comprises commercial properties located in the key business districts of South Korea, Japan, Australia (which makes up 17.5 per cent of its portfolio) and Singapore (78.6 per cent of its whole portfolio).
In particular, the manager of the Reit observed improved performance in the Singapore portfolio due to higher rentals, and emphasised that contributions from 255 George Street and increased occupancy at 2 Blue Street, offset partially by a stronger Singapore dollar, led to a higher NPI.
Chua Hsien Yang, chief executive of the manager, said: “We made good progress in backfilling vacancies at Ocean Financial Centre in Singapore and 255 George Street in Sydney, Australia, increasing their occupancies to 96.1 per cent and 99 per cent, respectively. In addition, we refinanced the majority of loans maturing in 2025 at lower margins.”
He added: “Looking ahead, we remain focused on driving asset performance and maintaining disciplined capital management, while navigating evolving market conditions with agility.”
Units of Keppel Reit closed 1.1 per cent or S$0.01 up at S$0.95 on Tuesday.
