Property expenses were up by 2.6% y-o-y to US$11.8 million due to higher real estate taxes and insurance expenses.
As a result, net property income (NPI) fell by 5.6% y-o-y to US$24 million from the lower revenue and higher property expenses.
Distributable income, however, rose by 2.4% y-o-y to US$13 million mainly due to reduced finance costs from lower interest rates and borrowings after the REIT partially repaid its loans using its divestment proceeds.
As at June 30, the REIT’s occupancy for grocery & necessary properties stood at 97.2% up from 96.3% in June last year, while occupancy for self storage stood at 95.3%, up from 94.3%. Portfolio weighted average lease expiry (WALE) came in at 7.6 years, down from last year’s 7.7 years.
As at the same period, aggregate leverage stood at 38.9%.
Gerard Yuen, CEO of the manager, noted the REIT’s portfolio’s “stable growth” as well as “improved tenant mix, higher occupancy and lower financing cost” that led to the higher DPU.
He adds that the REIT has also begun construction of its new 5,000 sq ft store on excess land in St. Lucie West, which has been pre-leased to Florida Blue on a 10-year lease.
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“This new store is adjacent to another recent development project for Academy Sport + Outdoors, which was completed in November 2023, and has been contributing positively to our financial performance. These initiatives will enable UHREIT to strengthen the quality, robustness, and diversity of our portfolio,” says Yuen.
The REIT’s distributions will be paid out on Sept 26. The ex date falls on Aug 21.
Units in UHREIT closed at 48 US cents on Aug 12.
