SINGAPORE (Jan 17): Bowsprit, the manager of First Real Estate Investment Trust (First REIT), reported record annualised DPU of 8.57 cents for FY17, up 1.2% compared to FY16.
The trust’s distributable income for the year edged up 2.3% to $66.7 million on the back of gross revenue and net property income (NPI) growing 3.7% and 3.4% to $111.0 million and $109.5 million respectively.
For 4Q17, DPU rose 0.9% to 2.15 cents compared to 2.13 cents in 4Q16, with distributable income to unitholders rising 1.6% to $16.8 million.
Gross revenue and NPI for the quarter grew 5.8% and 4.9% to $28.6 million and $28.0 million respectively.
The growth was underpinned by full quarter’s contribution from Siloam Hospitals Labuan Bajo (SHLB), acquired in December 2016, and maiden contributions from Siloam Hospitals Buton and Lippo Plaza Buton (Buton property) and Siloam Hospitals Yogyakarta (SHYG), which were acquired in October 2017 and December 2017 respectively.
As at Dec 31, First REIT has a gearing of 33.6% and an interest cover of 5.5 times.
In its outlook, Bowsprit says against the stronger economic outlook and the on-going national health insurance scheme, demand for better quality private healthcare will continue to grow steadily.
First REIT remains well-positioned for further growth, with a strong acquisition pipeline of 39 hospitals in Indonesia from its sponsor, PT Lippo Karawaci Tbk.
Units of First REIT closed 1 cent lower at $1.40.
