Ascott Reit's gross profit up 16% to $39.2m

On back of higher revenue.

Ascott Residence Trust’s revenue for 1Q 2014 surged 16% to S$80.4 million compared to 1Q 2013. This was largely due to contributions from new properties acquired in 2013 and stronger contribution from existing properties mainly from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Vietnam. In line with the increase in revenue, gross profit jumped 16% to S$39.2 million in 1Q 2014.

Ascott Reit achieved Unitholders’ distribution of S$26.7 million and distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.75 cents for 1Q 2014.

DPU for 1Q 2014 is 5% higher than the adjusted DPU of 1.67 cents for 1Q 2013, which was adjusted for the effects from Ascott Reit’s rights issue in December 2013 and excluded a one-off realised foreign exchange gain of S$8.1 million in 1Q 2013.

In 1Q 2014, Ascott Reit acquired its first serviced residence in Dalian and a second property in Fukuoka after its successful rights issue in December 2013.

Besides acquisitions which led to revenue growth, Ascott Reit saw strong performance for its operations in several markets. Revenue per available unit (RevPAU) for Japan, United Kingdom and Belgium grew 18%, 13% and 11% respectively.