ELITE UK Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) for the first half of the year fell 19.5 per cent to £0.014 from £0.0174 in the corresponding period the year before, based on a 90 per cent payout ratio.
The manager of the trust on Wednesday (Aug 7) also posted half-year revenue of £18.6 million (S$31.3 million), down 0.6 per cent from £18.7 million in H1 FY2023. The decline was attributed to a lower asset base from the first half of the previous year.
For a like-for-like comparison, DPU for the first half of FY2023 was £0.0143. This was based on a larger number of units in issue for H1 FY2024.
Net property income (NPI) fell 4.7 per cent year on year to £18.7 million, from £19.6 million previously.
Distributable income for H1 FY2024 was £9.2 million, down 1.7 per cent from £9.3 million in the year-ago period.
An increase in vacancy-holding costs due to timing was cited as a factor behind the fall in both NPI and distributable income.
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However, the manager noted that distributable income stabilised over the past year, following rental from lease re-gearing and cost savings from lower debt.
The Reit’s debt headroom increased to £57.9 million, with an interest coverage ratio of three times.
Chief executive of the manager Joshua Liaw said: “Using the proceeds from fundraising and capital recycling, we reduced our borrowings by £38 million and lowered our gearing to 41.4 per cent.”
In the corresponding period in FY2023, net gearing ratio for the Reit was higher at 47.5 per cent.
As at Jun 30, portfolio occupancy remained stable at 92.3 per cent, with a weighted average lease expiry of 3.8 years.
Units of Elite UK Reit ended flat on Tuesday at £0.24.
