AEI works at Cambridge Industrial Trust property at 3 Pioneer Sector 3.

Cambridge Industrial Trust (SGX:J91U) announced on 22 October that is has achieved distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.204 Singapore cents cents for its 3Q 2015, representing a fall of 3.7% compared to the 1.25 Singapore cents paid in the corresponding period last year.

This despite gross revenue for the quarter increasing by 13.8% to SGD28.5 million and net property income (NPI) increasing by 10.5% to SGD21.7 million from 3Q2014.

“Annualised distribution per unit dipped slightly to 4.777 cents, reflecting the fact that there was no capital contribution in 3Q 2015 due to the completion of asset enhancement initiatives”, said the REIT in a statement on the results.

“We maintained steady growth momentum this quarter, renewing approximately 9 percent of our net lettable area since the beginning of the year, at a positive rental reversion of 8.5%”, said Philip Levinson, CEO of the REIT’s manager. “Achieving such results despite headwinds in the industrial sector bears testament to our strong tenant relationships and the strength of our team”, he added.

The industrial REIT’s portfolio occupancy is at 95.4% while aggregate weighted average lease expiry (WALE) is at 3.9 years. Gearing ratio is at 37.2%.

“Moving forward, we will continue to proactively manage lease renewals and the conversion from single to multi-tenancy in order to optimise occupancy and rental yields”, said Levinson.

“Cambridge Industrial Trust is in a strong financial position, with 96.5% of exposure fixed for the next 3.2 years and available committed facilities of SGD43 million. This positions us well to continue growing steadily and deliver sustainable value to our unitholders”, he added.

Units of Cambridge Industrial Trust last closed on the Singapore Exchange at SGD0.635.

By Ridzwan Rahmat

Ridzwan has been analysing REITs and business trusts since 2008, and personally manages a portfolio comprising mainly of SGX-listed REITs. He founded REITsWeek in 2013.