DIGITAL Core real estate investment trust (Reit) has posted US$34.4 million in distributable income to its unit holders over the first three quarters ended on Sep 30 &ndash 3.4 per cent lower than its forecast US$35.6 million.

 

Net property income came in at US$53 million, 5.7 per cent higher than its forecast of US$50.1 million, over the same period, according to a business update filed with the Singapore Exchange on Wednesday (Oct 26).

 

Revenue for Digital Core Reit, : DCRU +1.79% which holds only data centres in its portfolio of assets, came in at US$80.7 million, 1.6 per cent higher than the projected US$79.4 million.

 

As the Reit was listed only last December, year-on-year comparisons are not available.

 

The Reit reported a total portfolio value of US$1.45 billion from its 10 data centres located across the United States, as well as in Canada.

 

As of Sep 30 this year, the occupancy rate was 100 per cent its weighted average lease expiry is 5 years.

 

Referring to one of its Toronto customers filing for bankruptcy protection, Digital Core Reit indicated that it had amended the lease, which gives it the flexibility to market the capacity, given that the IT service provider is preparing to vacate the premises by the end of this year.

 

The Reit had signed a cash-flow support agreement with a sponsor, which guarantees that all rental payments that are due until the end of the lease would be paid. The Reit&rsquo s manager reiterated what it had said in its first-quarter business update &ndash that its distribution per unit (DPU) would not be affected.

 

Even as this IT service provider vacates its premises, Digital Core Reit said that market vacancy is tightening across its core markets.

 

The Reit has an outstanding debt of US$350 million, which works out to an aggregate leverage of 26.2 per cent.

THE manager of Digital Core Reit (DC Reit) on Thursday (Jul 28) reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of US$0.0206 for the first half of 2022, a performance that slightly missed the mark.

 

The pure-play data centre real estate investment trust (Reit) made its trading debut on the Singapore Exchange on Dec 6, 2021, and at the time, it had forecasted a DPU of US$0.0209 for the half year ended Jun 30, according to its interim financial statements.

 

Together with a DPU of US$0.0031 for the stub period Dec 6-31, 2021, a total DPU of US$0.0237 will be paid to unitholders on Sep 28, the manager said.

 

Gross revenue was 0.3 per cent lower than expected at US$52.8 million, but net property income turned out to be 5.9 per cent higher than projected at US$35.4 million, due to lower-than-expected property expenses.

 

The manager noted that despite higher-than-expected net property income, profit attributable to non-controlling interests came in lower than expected, whereas profit attributable to unitholders was higher than the forecast level.

 

After adjusting for distribution adjustments, distributable income came in 2.2 per cent lower than the forecast figure at US$23.2 million.

 

Although global growth is expected to slow, the manager said increased investments in digital infrastructure and the adoption of new technologies bode well for the digital economy and the growth of data centres.

 

It added that DC Reit is well-positioned to benefit from positive industry trends, given its operational expertise and industry network.

 

DC Reit owns a diversified portfolio of 10 income-producing facilities in core data centre markets across the United States and Canada, and these are 100 per cent leased as at Jun 30, with a weighted average lease expiration of about 5.2 years, the manager said.

 

In April, DC Reit entered into floating-to-fixed interest rate swaps to hedge a portion of its floating rate exposure, resulting in half its total interest rate exposure now hedged.