Ascendas REIT - OCBC Investment 2015-10-23: Sturdy results; one-off boost to DPU

Ascendas REIT ASCENDAS REAL ESTATE INV TRUST A17U.SI

Ascendas REIT: Sturdy results; one-off boost to DPU

 2QFY16 DPU grew 13.7% YoY

 Occupancy rate inched up slightly

 No change in rental reversion guidance

Ascendas REIT (A-REIT) reported a sturdy set of 2QFY16 results which came in within our expectations.
Gross revenue grew 10.8% YoY to S$182.6m due to contributions from completed AEIs and acquisitions, coupled with positive rental uplifts on renewals and higher occupancy at certain properties.

DPU jumped 13.7% YoY to 4.16 S cents, but this was partly boosted by a one-off S$6.5m distribution of taxable income from operations arising from a rollover adjustment related to a ruling by IRAS on the non-deductibility of certain upfront fees incurred in FY09/10.
Even if we exclude this, A-REIT's adjusted DPU of 3.889 S cents still translated into a growth of 6.3% YoY.
For 1HFY16, A-REIT's gross revenue increased 10.7% to S$363.1m, forming 49.8% of our FY16 forecasts. DPU was up 9.6% to 8.001 S cents, but if we make the same adjustment as highlighted earlier, growth came in at 5.9% to 7.73 S cents. This constituted 50.1% of our full-year projection.

During the quarter, A-REIT achieved positive rental reversions of 9.1% for its Singapore multi-tenanted properties portfolio, with the main driver coming from the Business & Science Parks segment (+13.2%).
As the current market rental rate is still above the weighted average passing rents for most of A-REIT's multi-tenanted space due for renewal in FY16, management has kept its guidance for a mid-single digit rental reversion for FY16. A balance of 10.2% of AREIT's property income is due for renewal for the remainder of the financial year.
Overall portfolio occupancy improved slightly from 88.8% to 89.0%, its fourth consecutive quarter of QoQ increase.

In terms of financial position, A-REIT's aggregate leverage ratio stood at 34.6%, as at 30 Sep 2015. This is expected to be increased to 37.8% once A-REIT completes the acquisition of its Australian logistics portfolio.
Currently, 72.1% of its borrowings have been hedged for a weighted average term of 3.4 years.
We maintain our forecasts, BUY rating and S$2.58 fair value estimate on A-REIT. The stock is currently trading at FY16F P/B ratio of 1.11x and distribution yield of 6.3%.%.

Wong Teck Ching Andy OCBC Securities | http://www.ocbcresearch.com/ 2015-10-23

OCBC Securities SGX Stock Analyst Report BUY MAINTAIN BUY 2.58 SAME 2.58