Singapore-listed office REIT, OUE Commercial REIT, announced on 10 May that it has achieved a distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.32 Singapore cents for its 1Q 2016, a fall of 8.33% as compared to the 1.44 cents paid in 1Q 2015.

In its result presentation however, OUE Commercial REIT restated its DPU for 1Q 2015 as 0.99 cents to include the 393,305,817 new units issued in August 2015, which would have shown an increase of 33.3% in DPU for 1Q 2016.

Amount available for distribution for the period was SGD17.0 million, a year-on-year increase of 35.1% over the SGD12.6 million achieved in the corresponding period in the last financial year.

Correspondingly gross revenue and net property income (NPI) for the period increased by 110.2% and 111.7% to SGD42.91 million and SGD33.26 million respectively.

“This is underpinned by contribution from One Raffles Place, as well as continued organic growth from the initial portfolio comprising OUE Bayfront and Lippo Plaza”, said Tan Shu Lin, CEO of the REIT’s manager, in a statement on the results.

“Despite the challenging environment, operational performance continued to be healthy, reflecting the quality and resilience of OUE Commercial REIT’s portfolio”, added Tan.

The REIT’s committed portfolio occupancy for the quarter increased marginally to 94.8% from 94.3% a quarter ago whilst rental reversions for OUE Bayfront, One Raffles Place and Lippo Plaza were 4.9%, 3.0% and 5.3% respectively.

OUE Commercial REIT’s aggregate leverage was 40.5% as at 31 March 2016, with a weighted average cost of debt of 3.56% per annum.

The REIT noted that the sluggish economy has impacted demand for office space. “Notwithstanding the headwinds faced in the Singapore office sector, the manager remain focused on delivering stable and sustainable returns for our unitholders, and will continue our proactive efforts to attract new tenants as well as retain existing tenants”, it said.

Units of OUE Commercial REIT last changed hands on the Singapore Exchange at SGD0.655.