Ascendas Reit net property income rose 14.8% YoY to S$445.6m in H1

Its gross revenue also rose 12.4% to S$586m.

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (Ascendas Reit) net property income rose by 14.8% year-on-year in the first half of 2021 to S$445.6m as its revenue rose on the back of contributions from offices overseas.

The gross revenue of Ascendas Reit for the first six months of 2021 rose 12.4% to S$586m mainly due to the revenue contribution from two office properties in San Francisco, United States which were acquired in November 2020.

The acquisition of 11 data centres across Europe acquired in March and two suburban offices in Australia acquired in January 2021 and September 2020 also contributed to the increase in revenues, according to Ascendas Funds Management (S) Limited, manager of Ascendas Reit.

However, the lack of S$10.3m COVID-related grants from the Singapore government partially offset the revenue, it said.

The total amount available for distribution also rose 18.2% in the period to S$331m. Distribution per unit also increased by 5.4% to 7.66 Singaporean cents due to the enlarged number of units in issue, increasing 12.2%, stemming from the equity raisings in the fourth quarter of 2020 and second quarter of 2021 to fund new acquisitions.

“With business spaces, logistics, and data centres now making up 80% of our S$15.9b portfolio, Ascendas Reit is well placed to benefit from the key trends of digitalisation and e-commerce,” the Manager's CEO and Executive Director William Tay said.