Keppel DC REIT's NPI jumped 28.3% to $55.44m in Q1

IT and augmented and virtual reality spending to grow this year.

Keppel DC REIT's net property income (NPI) grew 28.3% YoY to $55.44m in Q1 2020, from $43.23m in 2019, the company announced. Gross revenue jumped 25.5% to $60.27m over the same period.

Meanwhile, distributable income also rose to $35.78m during the quarter, a 32% YoY expansion from $27.11m in Q1 2019. Distribution per unit (DPU) stretched 8.6% YoY to 2.085 cents per unit from 1.92 cents a year earlier.

This year, global IT and global augmented and virtual reality spending is expected to grow by 3.4% and 78.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, mobile data traffic may see a 27% annual increase from 2019 to 2025, whilst 5G connection is expected to take up 10.6% of total mobile traffic by 2023.

Keppel DC Reit’s manager said that it expects demand for its service to hold up, as data centres support mission-critical operations. They also expect higher data traffic and an accelerated pace of cloud and technological adoption, as more people work and transact from home.

They will continue to strengthen their position in the data centre industry with a low aggregate leverage of 32.2%, providing financial flexibility in pursuing growth, stable income stream, and limited interest rate exposure with 77% of borrowings hedged over the entire loan term.