At a payout ratio of 90%, unitholders will receive DPUs of 3.07 pence for the FY2023 and 1.33 pence for the 2HFY2023.
Revenue for the FY2023 increased by 1.5% y-o-y to GBP37.6 million.
Net property income (NPI) rose by 15.7% y-o-y to GBP41.4 million, including GBP317,000 of straight-line rent adjustments.
Finance costs, however, also rose by 60.7% y-o-y to GBP7.95 million, bringing the amount available for distribution to unitholders after retention to GBP7.9 million, 27.4% lower y-o-y.
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The REIT also reported a loss after tax of GBP31.1 million for the year.
As at Dec 31, 2023, the REIT’s net gearing ratio stood at 47.5% after its divestments and loan repayment adjustments.
After its preferential offering to raise some GBP28 million, which was concluded on Jan 18, the REIT’s net gearing is at 40.9%.
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As at Dec 31, 2023, cash and cash equivalents stood at GBP15.6 million.
“2024 is set to be an exciting year for Elite REIT. The recent successful completion and oversubscription of our first preferential offering – also the first GBP-denominated equity fundraising on the Singapore Exchange– has reduced our net gearing. We are now working towards executing our refinancing and reinforcing our capital structure to reset Elite REIT for future growth,” says Joshua Liaw, CEO of the manager.
“We are actively working on asset repositioning strategies; some of our assets could benefit from the living sector, such as student housing and built-to-rent residential, which are currently undersupplied. We continue to proactively engage our key occupier, the UK Government’s Department for Work and Pensions, to extend and diversify lease tenures. We are on track to deliver on the various strategies to maximise unitholder returns,” he adds.
Unitholders will receive their DPUs on March 28.
Units in Elite Commercial REIT closed at 26 pence on Feb 16.
