Ascendas REIT

[millionairemind]

January 15, 2009, 6.49 pm (Singapore time)

A-Reit's Q309 net income up 21%

By ARTHUR SIM

Ascendas Reit (A-Reit) has announced net property income increased by 20.9 per cent to $74 million for the third quarter FY2008/09 compared to a year ago.

This was attributed to organical growth of 38.2 per cent through rental rate increases.

Distribution per unit (DPU) for the three months ended 31 December 2008 was 4.05 cents per unit, an increase of 13.8 per cent on the 3.56 cents recorded in the same quarter of the last financial year. This represents an annualized yield of 11.6 per cent based on the closing price of $1.37 per unit on 31 December 2008.

As at 31 December 2008, A-REIT has 74.7 per cent of its total debt hedged into fixed rate for the next 3.7 years.

A-Reit's manager also said it is in discussion with some of its existing lenders on the refinancing and extension of its loan facilities and will continue to explore various funding options to enhance its capital structure and to strength its balance sheet.

[ichew]

wonder how mkt will take this fund raising tml

http://areit.listedcompany.com/newsroom ... 479D.1.pdf

A-REIT LAUNCHES EQUITY FUND RAISING TO RAISE APPROXIMATELY S$400 MILLION
Equity Fund Raising to comprise:

• Private Placement to raise gross proceeds of approximately S$292 million; and
• Preferential Offering to raise gross proceeds of approximately S$108 million
• New Units priced at between S$1.13 and S$1.16 per Unit for both the Private Placement and Preferential Offering
• Proceeds from the Equity Fund Raising to be used to fund development projects, as well as to reduce A-REIT’s Aggregate Leverage and strengthen its balance sheet
• Preferential Offering made on the basis of one New Unit for every 15 existing Units held by entitled unitholders of A-REIT as at the Book Closure Date

[ucypmas]

Companies are not allowed to announce equity fund raising prior to the announcement of their latest results. What DBS did was skirting at the edge of the rules. Without the massive discount the offer would never fly among investors.

Ascenda's rights issue will be but the first one among supposedly blue chip companies, over the next few weeks. Most will be to reduce their debt levels and strengthen their balance sheet. Those of us who are long stocks may want to examine their portfolio and calculate potential exposures should the some of their companies decide to call for rights.

[millionairemind]

January 16, 2009, 4.04 pm (Singapore time)

Moody's continues A-Reit review for possible downgrade

Moody's Investors Service is continuing its review for possible downgrade of the A3 corporate family rating of Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust ('A-REIT').

'The continuation of the review follows A-REIT's announced a private placement and an underwritten non-renounceable preferential rights issuance totaling approximately S$400 million,' says Kathleen Lee, a Moody's VP/Senior Analyst, adding, 'A-REIT plans to use S$200 million from net proceeds to meet its committed development projects as well as potential future projects and the remaining S$189 million toward debt reduction.'

While equity raising is a positive move to reduce the REIT's leverage, which is expected to fall from 42% to 36% following completion of committed development projects, the rationale for the review remains as planned proceeds for debt reduction will only partially alleviate A-REIT's refinancing needs in 2009.

The proceeds of the equity issuance will still not be able to fully correct A-REIT's reliance on uncommitted revolving banking facilities, which is currently the subject of Moody's review for downgrade.

In addition, Moody's is concerned about the continuing weakening operating environment for industrial properties in Singapore, which may translate to slower demand for rental space and/or asset write-down.

The last rating action on A-REIT was taken on 11 December, 2008, when its rating was placed on review for possible downgrade.

Headquartered in Singapore, Ascendas-Real Estate Investment Trust has a diversified portfolio of 88 properties in Singapore with a total value of S$4.6 billion as of December 2008. The REIT's portfolio consists of business park/science park properties, industrial properties, and logistics/distribution centers. -- BT newsroom

[millionairemind]

Published January 31, 2009

Moody's cuts Ascendas Reit rating to Baa1
Downgrade reflects Reit's refinancing risk and the challenging state of the operating environment

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

MOODY'S Investors Service has downgraded Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust's corporate family rating from A3 to Baa1 as the industrial property trust has not fully addressed refinancing issues and the significant operating challenges facing A-Reit in a recession.

The outlook for the rating remains negative, reflecting A-Reit's still-weak liquidity profile, the challenging state of the operating environment and the tightening headroom of financial covenants.

Moody's lead analyst Kathleen Lee said: 'The downgrade reflects the trust's ongoing refinancing risk, given that it has not fully addressed its reliance on uncommitted revolving credit facilities to support its long-term assets.'

A-Reit recently announced a private placement and an underwritten non-renounceable preferential rights issue totalling about $400 million. A-Reit plans to use $200 million from the net proceeds to meet its committed development projects as well as potential future projects and the remainder will go towards debt reduction.

'While the equity raising is a positive move to reduce the Reit's leverage, the downgrade reflects the fact that the planned use of the proceeds for debt reduction will only partially alleviate A-Reit's refinancing needs in 2009,' Ms Lee said.

'The downgrade also reflects the significant operating challenges facing the trust against the backdrop of a recessionary macro-environment in Singapore in 2009 . . . In addition, a pipeline of new supply coming on-stream in 2009/10 is expected to exacerbate downward pressure on A-Reit's rental revenue, occupancy rate and asset values.

'As a result, the trust's credit metrics are expected to weaken and the headroom to meet its financial covenants will be tightened,' Ms Lee notes.

On a more positive note, Moody's noted that A-Reit has 'some access to the capital markets and leading banks, leveraging on its close relationship with its sponsor, Ascendas Pte Ltd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of JTC Corporation and which, in turn, is a Singapore government statutory body.'

Earlier this month, A-Reit reported net property income of $74.2 million for its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2008, an increase of 20.9 per cent compared to a year ago.

Income available for distribution was $54 million for the quarter, an increase of 14.4 per cent year on year, while distribution per unit (DPU) was 4.05 cents per unit, an increase of 13.8 per cent.

[winston]

DBS Research believes that current price for A-REIT reflects a drastic 40% vacancy levels in its portfolio, which in our view should be unlikely to occur.

Earnings visibility is boosted by the fact that about 43% of A-REIT’s income is locked in over the next 7.6 years, based on our estimates. At current price levels, investors are getting an attractive FY10-11 yield of 11% for a blue –chip backed reit with strong financial flexibility, good access to credit and an experienced management team.

Maintain BUY, TP S$1.51.

[winston]

SINGAPORE, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust may be in focus on Wednesday after it placed 185 million new units at S$1.63 a unit, which was at the bottom of the indicative price range.

[kennynah]

let me share with you my experience with Ascendas management personnel about 6 years ago...

at that time, a group of us had some initial plans to bake cakes and pastries (bluff one, to disguise the real business plan...cannot everything share in public forum mah)...i undertook the task of finding a location to house our business...

and so, there i was at science park I (pasir pajang road)...and i hooked up with the manager responsible for rentals in Ascendas building itself... to cut to the chase, he came across as another property agent...eager to close the deal without much to offer...nothing he said convinced me of the price they were asking for...nothing he did, showed me he knew why i should be renting a place in his building,...in the face of my rejection, he did absolutely nothing and hence i was convinced if i had taken the place, that would be the last i'd ever hear from him...even if it meant i had some complaints to be attended to and so i walked away...

i sure hope they are a lot more professional in their business conduct than they were 6 years ago.....

[millionairemind]

October 19, 2009, 5.32 pm (Singapore time)

A-Reit Q2 DPU drops 13.2%

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (A-Reit) on Monday reported a distributable income of S$61.6 million for the second quarter ended Sept 30. This is a 15.4 per cent increase from a year ago.

However, distribution per unit dropped 13.2 per cent year-on-year, from 4.01 cents in Q2 last year to 3.48 in Q2 this year.

[millionairemind]

January 18, 2010, 5.48 pm (Singapore time)

A-Reit distributable income up, DPU down

By EMILYN YAP

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (A-Reit) on Monday posted a net property income of S$81.3 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2009. This is 9.7 per cent higher than that a year ago.

Distributable income rose 13.4 per cent to S$61.2 million over the same period.

Nonetheless, distribution per unit (DPU) fell 19.3 per cent to 3.27 cents in Q3, from 4.05 cents a year ago. This was the result of a larger unit base from the Reit's share placement and preferential offering exercises.

On a proforma basis, A-Reit's DPU in Q3 last year would have been 2.88 cents. This would reflect a 13.5 per cent increase in DPU.