Singapore mainboard-listed Ascendas Hospitality Trust (A-HTRUST) (SGX:Q1P) has reported a distribution per stapled security (DPS) of 1.27 Singapore cents for its 2QFY14/15, a 9.9% drop from the 1.41 Singapore cents posted in the same period last year.

This despite posting gross revenue of SGD56.5 million for the quarter, an increase of 6.5% from the same period last year.

After accounting for the SGD2.1 million cost incurred in the quarter for the partial unwinding of the cross-currency swaps for its Australia portfolio and an enlarged stapled security base, income available for distribution for the quarter decreased 3.2% year-on-year to SGD14.1 million. This translated to the DPS of 1.27 Singapore cents.

“DPS for the quarter would have increased 3.5% y-o-y to 1.46 cents without the partial unwinding of the cross-currency swaps”, said the trust in a statement regarding its results.

However A-HTRUST reported bright sparks in its RevPAR for Australia and China which improved 3.2% and 2.0% respectively. “Concurrently, contribution from the latest acquisition in Osaka further strengthened the steady stream of rental income generated by our hotels operated under master lease contracts in Japan and Singapore”, said Tan Juay Hiang, CEO of A-HTRUST’s managers.

As at 30 September 2014, A-HTRUST’s gearing ratio stands at 38.3% with 91.1% of its total borrowings are on fixed rates. The effective interest rate and weighted average debt to maturity remained at approximately 3.1% and 3.1 years respectively.

A-HTRUST has indicated that it remains optimistic for the quarters ahead.

“The near term outlook for Singapore’s tourism market is stable as weaker demand from China is partially mitigated by growth in visitors from Southeast Asia and Europe. The long term outlook remains positive given Singapore’s pro-business environment and competitiveness as a MICE venue”, it said.

Units of the trust are currently listed on the Singapore Exchange at SGD0.72.