Published October 23, 2008

Ascott Reit's DPU up 31% in Q3

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ASCOTT Residence Trust (ART) achieved a unitholders' distribution of $15.86 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, a 32 per cent increase year-on-year. Distribution per unit (DPU) for the quarter is 2.61 cents, a 31 per cent increase from a year earlier.
Strong show: The trust's CEO said it continued to benefit from geographic diversification and its extended-stay business model

Lim Jit Poh, chairman of Reit manager Ascott Residence Trust Management Ltd (ARTML), said: 'Ascott Reit posted a strong operating performance. Revenue increased $10.7 million. Sixty-six per cent was attributable to organic growth across the portfolio. The other 34 per cent was contributed by newly acquired properties subsequent to Q3 2007.'

ARTML chief executive Chong Kee Hiong said ART continued to benefit from geographic diversification and its extended-stay business model. Its properties in Beijing enjoyed strong growth in average daily rates during the Olympic Games. And its Australian and Singapore properties also performed well.

As at Sept 30, ART's gearing was 34.9 per cent - well within the 60 per cent gearing limit allowable under MAS's property fund guidelines.

The trust's average cost of debt was 3.3 per cent, and its interest cover a healthy 5.1 times. ARTML said that more than 70 per cent of ART's debt is on a fixed-rate basis, as it has consistently taken a conservative approach to capital management.

Some $84.6 million or 15 per cent of total debt is due for refinancing in the current Q4. The trust said it has sufficient cash and bank facilities to meet these refinancing needs. More than 80 per cent of total debt is not due for refinancing until 2011 and beyond.

'We will continue to focus on active management of our properties to maximise asset yields to deliver stable returns to unitholders, despite the difficult economic conditions,' Mr Lim said.