Singapore-listed industrial REIT Cambridge Industrial Trust has reported a DPU of 0.987 Singapore cents for its 3Q 2016, a fall of 18% compared to the 1.204 cents achieved in the corresponding period of 2015.

Gross revenue for the period fell 2.9% year-on-year to SGD27.6 million (USD19.8 million) while net property income declined by 8.3% to SGD19.9 million.

Correspondingly amount available for distribution came in at SGD12.9 million, 17.2% lower year-on-year from the SGD15.6 million reported in 3Q 2015.

“Despite challenging economic conditions during the quarter, I am encouraged to report steady progress in our strategy to divest non-core properties and recycle capital to optimise our portfolio and capital structure”, said Philip Levinson, CEO of the REIT’s manager, in a statement on the results on 26 October.

“In this quarter, we have fully unencumbered our property portfolio and have no major refinancing requirements until 2H 2018, which provide us with greater operational and financial flexibility”, he noted.

Cambridge Industrial Trust’s gearing ratio as at 30 September was at 36.9%, with all-in cost of debt at 3.65%.

The REIT’s portfolio occupancy improved marginally by 0.2% to 93.6% from the previous quarter, with a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 3.8 years by rental income.

“Looking into the final quarter of 2016, we remain cautious on the industrial leasing market due to muted global economic prospects and continued rental pressure”, said Levinson.

“That said, we are staying the course and will continue to focus on tenant retention, cost-savings and proactive asset management to maintain our performance and deliver value to unitholders”, he added.

Units of Cambridge Industrial Trust last changed hands on the Singapore Exchange at SGD0.56.