2Q FY2011/12 | Growth over 2Q FY2010/11 | Growth over 1Q FY2011/12 | 1H FY2011/12 | Growth over 1H FY2010/11 | |
Total Property Income, Indian Rupee million | 1,192 | 17% | 6% | 2,321 | 14% |
Net Property Income, Indian Rupee million | 707 | 13% | 11% | 1,342 | 7% |
Total Property Income, S$ million | 31.4 | 6% | 1% | 62.6 | 3% |
Net Property Income, S$ million | 18.6 | 2% | 6% | 36.2 | (3%) |
Distributable Income, S$ million | 11.8 | (9%) | 3% | 23.2 | (10%) |
Distribution per Unit ("DPU"), S$ cents | 1.54 | (9%) | 3% | 3.04 | (10%) |
a-iTrust's total property income for 2Q FY2011/12 was S$ 31.4
million, reflecting an increase of 6% from the same period
last year. Net property income was S$ 18.6 million, or higher
by 2%. In Indian Rupee terms, total property income increased
17%, while net property income rose 13% in 2Q FY2011/12,
compared to the year before.
For 1H FY2011/12, total property income was S$ 62.6 million,
or 3% higher than the same period of last year. Net property
income was S$ 36.2 million, representing a 3%
decrease over the same period.
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Distributable income for 2Q FY2011/12 was S$ 11.8 million,
which increased by 3% over the preceding quarter.
Distributable income for 1H FY2011/12 was S$ 23.2 million, or
10% lower than the same period of last year.
Total property income increased as a result of the enlarged
portfolio from a-iTrust completing the development of 3 new
buildings. While income is recognised progressively, expenses
including interest expenses are recognised in full on the
buildings' respective completion. Hence, distributable income
has yet to grow in line with the increase in space and total
income. With the 3 new buildings now 79% to 84%
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leased, additional income will be recognised upon handing
over of the space to tenants, and the leasing of the balance
space is in progress. Another factor which impacted the
distributable income is the appreciation of Singapore Dollar
against Indian Rupee compared to a year ago.
DPU for 2Q FY2011/12 was 1.54 Singapore cents, representing a
3% increase from the quarter before. Taking into account the
DPU of 1.50 Singapore cents for the preceding quarter, DPU
for the first half of the financial year was 3.04 Singapore
cents. On an annualised basis, the 6-month DPU represents a
yield of 7.9% and 7.4% over the closing prices of S$ 0.77 and
S$ 0.82 per unit on 30 September 2011 and 27 October
2011 respectively. DPU for the first half of the financial
year is payable on 25 November
2011 and units will be traded ex-date on 11 November
2011.
Gearing as at 30 September 2011 was 23% 2, while
net asset value attributable to
Unitholders was S$ 0.74 per unit.
Chief Executive Officer of the Trustee-Manager, Mr Jonathan
Yap said, "1H FY2011/12 proved to be a productive period on
the leasing front. Excluding the new buildings completed in
the past year, leases for 0.79 million sq ft of space or
about 17% of the portfolio were concluded. This reflects a
tenant retention rate of 81% and improvement in portfolio
occupancy rate to 98% 3 as at 30 September
2011.
Leasing of our new buildings, being Park Square (a retail
mall in International Tech Park Bangalore ("ITPB")), Voyager
(Multi-tenanted Building ("MTB") within ITPB's Special
Economic Zone ("SEZ")) and Zenith (an IT MTB in International
Tech Park Chennai ("ITPC")), also improved. As at 27 October
2011, commitment levels reached 84% for Park Square, 79% for
Voyager and 84% for Zenith. The financial benefits will
increase progressively in the months ahead as more units are
being handed over, after which
income can be recognised.
1 As at 27 October 2011.
2 Excludes Minority Interests.
3 Excludes Zenith (ITPC), Park Square (ITPB) & Voyager (ITPB).
2
We are also pleased to report that a key regulatory approval
was obtained in September
2011 for the previously announced acquisition of aVance
Business Hub, an IT/ITES 4
SEZ in Hyderabad. The transaction is pending the fulfillment
of the remaining conditions precedent."
a-iTrust's portfolio of 6.4 5 million sq ft of
completed space is in Bangalore, Chennai and
Hyderabad.
a-iTrust's properties are today home to a total working
population of 66,000 people from
322 5 tenants, comprising mainly corporate
tenants operating in various IT sub-sectors such as software
development, business process off-shoring, research and
development, and data centres. While their operations in our
properties are IT-related, our tenants' underlying businesses
are diverse, such as financial services, IT services,
manufacturing and pharmaceutical. As at 30 September 2011,
the largest tenant contributed about 7.5% 5 of
the portfolio base rent, while the top 10 tenants
collectively accounted for about 35% 5 of
portfolio base rent, further demonstrating the low client
concentration and diversified income base.
Occupancy rate for the portfolio as at 30 September 2011 was
98% 3. This is at the higher end of the market
occupancy range of 70% to 97% 6 for the
micro-markets in which the portfolio's properties are
located.
87% 5 of our tenants are multi-national
corporations. Our tenants appreciate the "Ascendas Advantage"
that comes with the portfolio being managed by the Ascendas
Group. By that, we refer to quality space, reliable solution
and international business lifestyle. Hence, in addition to
ensuring that the space continues to meet our customers'
requirements, a host of services and amenities are provided
to develop a sense of community belonging within each park.
For instance, 6 events were organised during the last quarter
for the users at our parks, such as the ITPB Talents Day held
in August
2011 and CEOs Night held at ITPB, The V and CyberPearl in
September 2011.
4 IT - Information Technology; ITES - IT-Enabled Services.
5 Includes Zenith (ITPC), Park Square (ITPB) & Voyager (ITPB).
6 Source: Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants Pvt. Ltd. These are occupancy rates of the micro-markets in
Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad within which a-iTrust's properties are located.
3
Future Growth
a-iTrust's existing portfolio includes about 1.7 million sq
ft of space recently completed, being Park Square (450,000-sq
ft retail mall in ITPB) 7 and Zenith (737,000-sq
ft IT MTB in ITPC), which were completed in December 2010,
and Voyager (535,000-sq ft MTB in the ITPB's SEZ), which was
completed in June 2011. Tenancy commitment levels for Zenith,
Park Square and Voyager were 84%, 84% and 79% respectively as
at 27
October 2011. The occupancy levels of the new buildings and
the resulting financial benefits are expected to stabilise
over the upcoming financial quarters.
Including the acquisition of the first 2 operating buildings
at aVance Business Hub in Hyderabad (total 0.4 million sq
ft), portfolio size will expand further to 6.8 million sq ft.
Both buildings are currently 100% occupied. Through the
transaction, we have the option to acquire up to 3 additional
buildings (total 1.8 million sq ft) when individually
completed and leased, potentially bringing our portfolio to
8.6 million sq ft of income- producing space over time.
Further space could be developed within the portfolio, which
is largely within the SEZ in ITPB. In view of the healthy
leasing status of Voyager, a second 540,000-sq ft MTB is
being planned and expected to complete around end-2013. There
is a development potential of 2 million sq ft thereafter.
a-iTrust holds 2 Right of First Refusal ("ROFR") arrangements
with Ascendas Land International Pte Ltd ("ALI"), the
Sponsor, and Ascendas India Development Trust ("AIDT") to
acquire substantially income-producing business space.
Collectively, the ROFR arrangements comprise over 10 million
sq ft of business space potential under various stages of
development in key cities in India such as Chennai, Pune,
Gurgaon and Coimbatore. In addition, up to 4 further
buildings with a total 1.2 million sq ft could
be acquired in aVance Business Hub, in respect of a ROFR with
the owners of the land8.
In addition to acquiring via ROFR, the Trustee-Manager seeks
to also acquire from the market.
7 ITPB houses a 27,000 working population and has further capacity to grow by developing its vacant land. Its existing 100,000-sq ft mall is inadequate to cope with the retail needs of the park population. This, and the opportunity to serve the retail needs of the population that live or work in close proximity to ITPB, is the rationale behind the development of Park Square.
8 This ROFR is in addition to the 2 buildings to be immediately acquired (0.4 million sq ft) and the option to acquire
3 further buildings (1.8 million sq ft) when individually completed and leased, in aVance Business Hub.
4
As at 30 September 2011, a-iTrust's total borrowings stood at
S$ 198.5 million, reflecting a 23% 1 gearing
(loan-to-value). This level of gearing allows a-iTrust the
flexibility to fund growth via development or acquisition
using debt or equity, whichever is more commercially viable
at the time. At the current gearing level, the trust has an
additional debt capacity of S$ 100 million or S$ 310 million
before its gearing reaches
35% or 60% (loan-to-value) respectively 9.
After the completion of the purchase of the first 2 buildings
of aVance Business Hub, which will be funded fully by debt,
a-iTrust's gearing level is estimated at about 27%. This
provides a-iTrust with meaningful debt headroom to undertake
further investment for future yield-accretive growth.
The India economy grew 7.7% for the quarter ended 30
September 2011, and the International Monetary Fund had
estimated GDP growth to be about 7.5% for FY2011/12. We are
focused on positioning the trust to further create value for
Unitholders by leveraging on India's growth.
The Trustee-Manager will continue to focus on growing the
operating earnings of its assets by actively managing the
portfolio, optimising its capital structure, and further
growing the portfolio through developing the land it owns and
pursuing acquisitions.
A copy of the full result announcement is available at www.sgx.comand
www.a- iTrust.com.
End -
9 a-iTrust has voluntarily adopted, and incorporated in its Trust Deed, the gearing limit of 35%, or 60% if a credit
rating or Unitholders' approval is obtained.
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Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust) www.a-iTrust.com
a-iTrust was launched in August 2007 as the first listed
Indian property trust in Asia. It has the principal objective
of owning income-producing real estate used primarily as
business space in India. a-iTrust may also acquire and
develop land or uncompleted developments primarily to be used
as business space, with the objective of holding the
properties upon completion.
The trust is seeded by four world-class IT parks in India,
namely the International Tech Park Bangalore, International
Tech Park Chennai, and CyberPearl and The V in Hyderabad.
a-iTrust is structured as a business trust while offering
stable income distributions akin to a Real Estate Investment
Trust ("REIT"). Its unique growth model provides strong
organic growth and growth from a development pipeline of
existing land within its portfolio, and a three-pronged
external acquisitions strategy. This strategy includes a
right of first refusal over substantially income-producing
business space, each from Ascendas Land International and
Ascendas India Development Trust, as well as the acquisition
of third-party properties across India.
a-iTrust is managed by Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Pte
Ltd, an Ascendas Group entity.
Ascendas is Asia's premier provider of business space
solutions with a significant presence in the region. Ascendas
develops, manages and markets IT Parks, industrial parks
(manufacturing, logistics and distribution centres), business
parks, science parks, hi-tech facilities, office and retail
space. Among its flagships are the Singapore Science Park,
International Tech Park Bangalore, Ascendas-Xinsu in Suzhou
and Dalian- Ascendas IT Park. More than 1,800 of the world's
leading companies, many in the Fortune 500 list, have made
Ascendas properties their preferred address in Asia.
Ascendas is also a leading real estate fund management player
focused on the management of public-listed property trusts
and private real estate funds, investing in a diverse range
of industrial and commercial real estate properties across
Asia. Listed on the main board of Singapore Exchange
Securities Trading Limited are Ascendas Real Estate
Investment Trust ("A-REIT"), Singapore's first business space
trust, and Ascendas India Trust ("a-iTrust"), Asia's first
Indian property trust. The Ascendas Group
also manages a range of private real estate funds which
invest in business space in
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India, China, South Korea and ASEAN. All the funds are
supported by Ascendas' strong fund management and real estate
expertise, and are testament to its commitment to each of its
markets.
For enquires on this release, please contact: CHANG Min
Wai
Investor Relations Ascendas India Trust DID: (65) 6508
8801
Mobile: (65) 9147 0509
Email: minwai.chang@ascendas.com
The value of Units and the income derived from them may fall as well as rise. Units are not obligations of, deposits
in, or guaranteed by, the Trustee-Manager or any of its affiliates. An investment in Units is subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested.
Investors have no right to request the Trustee-Manager to redeem their Units while the Units are listed. It is intended that Unitholders of a-iTrust may only deal in their Units through trading on the SGX-ST. Listing of the Units on the SGX-ST does not guarantee a liquid market for the Units.
The past performance of a-iTrust is not necessarily indicative of the future performance of a-iTrust.
This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual future performance, outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Representative examples of these factors include (without limitation) general industry and economic conditions, interest rate trends, cost of capital and capital availability, competition from other developments or companies, shifts in expected levels of property rental income and occupancy rate, changes in operating expenses (including employee wages, benefits and training costs), governmental and public policy changes and the continued availability of financing in the amounts and the terms necessary to support future business. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are based on the Trustee-Manager's current view on future events.
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