Stronger earnings for Mapletree

MAPLETREE Logistics Trust yesterday announced a higher distributable income of $22.6 million, or 2.04 cents a share, for the quarter ended June 30, due to additional income from the 18 properties acquired in the past year.

The distribution per unit is 28.3-per-cent higher than 1.59 cents a year earlier.

Mr Chua Tiow Chye, chief executive officer of Mapletree Logistics Trust Management, said: “We continue to see strong rental reversions for leases that came up for renewal.”

As of June 30, the real estate investment trust (Reit)’s portfolio comprises 76 properties valued at $2.5 billion in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Malaysia and South Korea.

Mr Chua added, “In the current environment, the manager’s immediate focus is to optimise yield from organic growth through extracting positive rental reversions and undertaking asset enhancements.”

At an extraordinary general meeting held last Friday, unitholders approved the rights issue to raise $606.7 million. “With a robust balance sheet after the rights issue, we are well positioned to operate in uncertain times,” said Mr Chua.

“While the current market conditions do make acquisition opportunities more readily available, we will evaluate these selectively and only if they are highly accretive,” he added. Looking ahead, Mr Chua is “confident that MapletreeLog’s strong performance will continue for the rest of the year.”

The management expects to achieve a positive rental reversion of at least 12 per cent for all renewals in 2008, which will come mainly from Singapore and Hong Kong.

Source : Today – 21 Jul 2008

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