The deployment of Mapletree Anson's divestment proceeds to reduce debt lowered full-year net finance costs by 3.1% y-o-y despite elevated interest rates, while improving the aggregate leverage ratio from 40.5% from a year ago to 37.7% as at March 31.
By systematically swapping HKD loans into CNH over the past two years, the manager has substantially reduced the higher-cost HKD component of MPACT's debt from 30% to 23% in FY2024, and further to 18% as at March 31.
Correspondingly, the more favourably-priced CNH component was raised from 0.3% to 7%, and now to 10%, creating better alignment with the AUM composition and matching of currency cashflows while capturing interest rate advantage.
To shield against interest rate and foreign exchange volatilities, 79.9% of the total gross debt of $6.1 billion was either fixed-rate debts or hedged through interest rate swaps, while approximately 90% of MPACT's distributable income (based on rolling four quarters) was either generated in or hedged into Singapore dollar as at March 31. MPACT has approximately $1.2 billion of cash and undrawn committed facilities.
