3QFY2020 gross revenue rose 2.1% q-o-q to €46.1 million, while net property income (NPI) was up 14.3% q-o-q to €30.6 million.
The increase in NPI is mainly due to the absence of doubtful debt provisions and the reversal of a €0.3 million provision for Covid-19 related doubt debts during the quarter.
As at Sept 30, the REIT’s occupancy rate stood at 94.3% with a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 5.0 years.
The manager says the number of tenant-customers submitting rent re-profiling requests due to Covid-19 has “tapered off materially” since late June 2020.
“CEREIT has allowed approximately 12% of tenant-customers by yearly gross income to temporarily pay their rent monthly, rather than quarterly, while rent collection remains at around 90%,” it says.
As at Sept 30, CEREIT has a net gearing level of 35.9%, an aggregate leverage of 38.8% and an interest coverage ratio of 6.8 times.
“Looking beyond the pandemic, the manager plans to increase CEREIT’s portfolio exposure to light industrial / logistics and data centre assets and divest several office and other assets. It will also continue planning for key redevelopment pipeline opportunities in gateway cities such as Paris, Amsterdam and Milan,” it adds.
“We are mindful that these are difficult times for everyone and that the impact of the pandemic will continue. However, our disciplined approach to acquiring secure cashflows and diversification has steered CEREIT well through 2020,” says Simon Garing, CEO of the manager.
“Our on-the-ground Cromwell teams are a major differentiating factor in these times, proactively engaging tenant-customers, executing leasing strategies, as well as asset enhancement initiatives and ESG initiatives, and exploring opportunities that emerge from market dislocations.”
“Lastly, CEREIT’s strong results since the beginning of 2020 and in particular during the third quarter give the management team the confidence to continue pursuing an active capital recycling and asset management strategy of growth through accretive acquisitions and targeted divestments. Our current focus remains on logistics assets in Germany and neighbouring countries. We remain confident in CEREIT’s future performance and long-term value proposition,” he adds.
AS at 9.18am, units in CEREIT are trading 1 cent higher or 2.2% up at 45.5 cents.
