CapitaLand Ascott Trust posts 7% fall in H2 DPS to S$0.0355 – The Business Times

CAPITALAND Ascott Trust (Clas) on Monday (Jan 27) posted a 7 per cent fall in distribution per stapled security (DPS) to S$0.0355 for the second half (H2) ended Dec 31, 2024, from S$0.038 in the year-ago period.

Core DPS grew 3 per cent on year to S$0.0308 from S$0.03, after excluding non-periodic items related to realised exchange gains arising from the settlement of cross-currency interest rate swaps and the repayment of foreign currency bank loans and medium term notes.

The manager attributed this to stronger operating performance, acquisitions and completed asset enhancement initiatives (AEI), which mitigated the impact of divestments, ongoing AEIs, higher financing costs, as well as the depreciation of most foreign currencies against the Singapore dollar.

This brings DPS for FY2024 to S$0.061, down 7 per cent year on year. After adjusting for non-periodic items, core DPS stood at S$0.0549, up 1 per cent from S$0.0544 recorded in the same period the year before.

The distribution for H2 will be paid out on Feb 28, after the record date on Feb 6.

Clas’ total distribution for H2 was down 4 per cent to S$134.8 million from S$140.8 million in the same period the previous year. 

Revenue for the half-year period stood at S$423.2 million, up 6 per cent from S$397.6 million recorded in the same period the year before.

The managers attributed the increase to higher income from its existing portfolio and S$32.7 million in additional contributions from acquisitions. This was partially offset by a drop in revenue of S$19.9 million from divestments.

Clas recorded a 6 per cent increase in revenue per available unit to S$167 for H2 2024, on the back of continued strong demand for international travel.

For the full-year, total distribution fell 2 per cent on year to S$231.2 million from S$237 million, while revenue rose 9 per cent on year to S$809.5 million from S$744.6 million.

Clas’ gearing stood at 38.3 per cent as at Dec 31, 2024, while its proportion of debt on fixed rates stood at 77 per cent. It has some S$1.6 billion in cash and available credit facilities.

Finance costs rose 21 per cent on year in FY2024 to S$105.4 million. The average cost of debt was 3 per cent per annum as at end December.

Clas’ portfolio valuation rose 1 per cent or around S$72 million in 2024, on the back of stronger operating performance and completed AEIs.

Lui Chong Chee, chairman of Clas Management and CapitaLand Ascott Business Trust Management, said: “In 2024, CLAS completed over S$500 million in divestments and about S$350 million in accretive investments. Part of the divestment proceeds have been used to pare down debt to optimise our balance sheet, and will also be used to fund our AEIs.”

Serena Teo, chief executive of Clas’ managers, cautioned that there might be some near-term unevenness on operational income resulting from divestments or properties undergoing AEIs.

“To mitigate the short-term impact of our upcoming AEIs, Clas will distribute past undistributed divestment gains to keep distributions stable.”

Stapled securities of Clas closed 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 higher at S$0.88 on Friday.