ASCENDAS Real Estate Investment Trust (A-Reit) said yesterday its second-quarter distributable income rose 15 per cent to $46.4 million

ASCENDAS Real Estate Investment Trust (A-Reit) said yesterday its second-quarter distributable income rose 15 per cent to $46.4 million, from $40.5 million a year earlier, as demand for the trust’s business space grew.

The better performance lifted A-Reit’s distribution per unit (DPU) to 3.51 cents, up 11 per cent from 3.16 cents paid for the previous corresponding period.

Net property income for Q2 ended Sept 30, 2007 increased 16 per cent to $60.1 million, from $51.9 million a year earlier.

A-Reit said its better performance was due to higher revenue resulting from higher occupancy and rents.

The occupancy rate for A-Reit’s portfolio reached 98.3 per cent in Q2. And rents at business and science parks and hi-tech industrial properties rose 32 per cent and 15 per cent respectively from Q1.

‘This can be attributed to the spillover effect from the tight CBD office market and our active asset management initiatives,’ said Tan Ser Ping, chief executive of the Reit’s manager.

For the half-year ended Sept 30, A-Reit’s distributable income rose 14 per cent to $91.1 million, while DPU rose 10 per cent to 6.88 cents.

Going forward, A-Reit said that with the economy strong, demand for business and industrial space, especially at business and science parks and hi-tech industrial properties, is likely to remain healthy.

The trust said: ‘A-Reit expects to be able to deliver a return for the second half of the current financial year that is in line with its performance in the first half of the financial year.’

A-Reit’s shares closed three cents lower at $2.39 yesterday. The stock price has fallen 10.5 per cent since the start of the year, compared with a 25.5 per cent climb in the Straits Times Index.

Source : Business Times - 20 Oct 2007