Mapletree Logistics Trust's NPI up 12% to $118.84m in Q1

This was attributed to lower utilities cost and maintenance expenses.

Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) saw its net property income (NPI) rise 12% YoY to $118.84m in Q2 from $106.13m in Q1 2019, the company announced. Gross revenue climbed 10.5% to $132.37m over the same period.

NPI growth was mainly due to lower utilities cost, maintenance expenses and absence of expenses in relation to the properties divested last year, partly offset by expenses attributable to acquisitions.

MLT’s amount distributable to unitholders grew 5.7% YoY to $77.8m for the quarter, translating to a 1% advance in distribution per unit (DPU) to 2.045 cents.

Meanwhile, its portfolio occupancy stood at 97.2% as at 30 June whilst the weighted average lease expiry of the portfolio by net lettable area is unchanged at 4.3 years.

During the quarter, leases for approximately 362,126 sqm were successfully renewed or replaced, achieving a positive average rental reversion rate of around 1.9%. This was mainly attributable to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Furthermore, MLT’s aggregate leverage stood at 39.6% in Q1, with slightly lower weighted average borrowing cost of 2.3% per annum for Q1 FY2021. Total debt outstanding increased by $62m from the previous quarter to $3.6b, mainly due to additional loans drawn for working capital purposes.

During the quarter, MLT refinanced $127m equivalent of HKD and AUD loans with existing available committed facilities. Consequently, total debt due in FY2021 has been reduced to approximately $139m or just 4% of total debt.

In line with the hedging strategy, about 80% of MLT’s total debt has been hedged into fixed rates while approximately 78% of income stream for the next 12 months has been hedged.

Following the progressive easing of restrictions and as economies reopen, all of MLT’s tenants have resumed operations except for a small number of tenants representing 1.3% of MLT’s revenue base which are mainly from Singapore. Overall leasing demand for warehouse space has also stayed relatively resilient.

MLT’s manager said it remains watchful of the evolving environment as a prolonged pandemic and economic downturn may adversely affect demand for warehouse space.