Sabana Shari’ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana Reit) reported on Saturday a 14.8 per cent fall in distribution per unit (DPU) for the first quarter to 0.75 cent per unit from 0.88 cent for the year-ago period.
Gross revenue fell 11.8 per cent year on year to $18.52 million, partly due to the divestment of its Tai Seng Drive property in the quarter under review, as well as lower contribution from properties at 151 Lorong Chuan, 8 Commonwealth Lane and 34 Penjuru Lane.
Net property income (NPI) dropped 13.3 per cent to $12.65 million largely on the back of reduced rental income from lower occupancies, including at 151 Lorong Chuan, where a “significant tenant” had a planned exit upon their lease expiry in the first quarter of this year.
The amount available for distribution slid 14.6 per cent to $7.9 million in line with lower revenue and NPI.
Sabana Reit said it sees a “muted performance” in the first half of this year amid challenging market conditions, but expects an improved performance in the later part of the year or early next year as it embarks on “long-awaited” asset enhancement initiative New Tech Park in Lorong Chuan.
The Reit was given outline permission by the authorities to add 3,980 sq m of new temporary commercial gross floor area to the property, which accounts for one-third of the firm’s overall portfolio asset value.
Units in the Reit closed unchanged at 42.5 cents last Thursday.