SINGAPORE (Apr 15): The manager of Keppel DC REIT has announced distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.92 cents for the 1Q19 ended March, some 6.7% higher than DPU of 1.80 cents a year ago.

This implies a distribution yield of 5.1% for Keppel DC REIT, based on the closing price of $1.50 on the last trading day of 1Q19.

1Q19 distributable income jumped 29.9% to $27.1 million, from $20.9 million a year ago. This was mainly due to an enlarged asset base following the acquisitions of maincubes Data Centre in Germany and Keppel DC Singapore 5, which were completed in March and June 2018, respectively.

Gross revenue rose 26.4% to $48.0 million in 1Q19, from $38.0 million a year ago.

This was led by higher gross rental income due to the acquisitions of maincubes DC and KDC SGP 5.

See also: <a class='gtm_see_also_1_inread' style='text-decoration: underline;' href='/capital/results/ntuc-income-reports-premium-growth-fy2021-lower-net-operating-surplus-fair-value?utm_source=website&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=ONPAGESEO'>NTUC Income reports premium growth for FY2021 but lower net operating surplus on fair value loss</a>

Property operating expenses climbed 22.5% to $4.8 million, from $3.9 million a year ago.

This was mainly due to acquisition of KDC SGP 5, as well as higher property-related expenses recorded at KDC DUB 1 and KDC DUB 2.

Consequently, net property income grew 26.8% to $43.2 million in 1Q19, from $34.1 million a year ago.

Keppel DC REIT’s portfolio occupancy rate stood at 93.2% as at March 31, 2019, with portfolio weighted average lease expiry (WALE) at 8.0 years.

See also: <a class='gtm_see_also_2_inread' style='text-decoration: underline;' href='/capital/results/serial-system-reports-lower-1qfy2022-earnings-allowance-obsolete-stocks?utm_source=website&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=ONPAGESEO'>Serial System reports lower 1QFY2022 earnings on allowance for obsolete stocks</a>

As at end March, cash and cash equivalents stood at $127.9 million.

Looking ahead, Keppel DC REIT says it is well-placed to benefit from the growth of the data centre market.

It adds that this is supported by the rapid growth in data creation and storage needs, increasing digitalisation and cloud adoption as well as the development and adoption of new technologies such as 5G mobile networks, driverless vehicles, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT), among others.

The manager says it maintains a proactive asset management strategy to improve the efficiency and returns of its portfolio, and will continue to maintain its focused investment strategy to capture value and strengthen its presence across key data centre hubs.

Units in Keppel DC REIT closed 0.7% higher at $1.49 on Monday.

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