Volkswagen Centre Singapore

Volkswagen Singapore is opening a 2nd dealership with full showroom and aftersales facilities at Macpherson to serve customers better.

Join in the opening celebrations at Volkswagen Centre Singapore (MacPherson) with food, fun activities, facility tours and special offers on our range of cars!

Discount: $6,300!

Win a trip to London from now till 8 May 2012!

Visit the official website for details on fantastic disounts and how to win a trip to London here at:
Volkswagen Centre Singapore!

Suntec REIT: Q1 2012 DPU 2.453c.

I still retain a small position in Suntec REIT at a cost price of about S$1.00 a unit which I purchased towards the tail end of the last financial crisis. This small position is free of cost, actually, since the gain from selling most of my investment in the REIT more than covers its cost. For me, this is what some would call a pillow stock. Sleep on it and get free money.

Gearing: 37.4%

Interest cover ratio: 4.2x

Credit rating: Baa2

NAV/unit: $1.962

DPU: 2.453c (XD 30 April. Payable on 29 May.)

Would I add to my long position or would I sell? I would not be doing either. The REIT's unit price at $1.285 is not expensive but neither is it cheap. So, I am keeping the status quo.

Although the office market remained subdued in the first quarter of 2012, the trust said its overall committed occupancy for the office portfolio enjoyed a strong occupancy of 99.4 per cent as at 31 March 2012.

Committed occupancy for the retail portfolio stood at 97.3 per cent as at 31 March 2012.

The trust is starting asset enhancement works at Suntec City, which is expected to complete by the second quarter of 2013.

Several established brands have signed up for retail space in the newly refurbished Suntec City Mall, including Swedish clothing giant H&M, which will take up 20,000 square feet.

Another major international fashion retailer has also committed approximately 22,000 sq ft with the mall.

In the coming year, the trust said it will focus on the smooth execution of its refurbishment works for Suntec City Mall as well as maintain a high occupancy level for the rest of the mall.

Source: CNA, 24 April 2012.

See slides presentation: here.

Sabana REIT: 1Q 2012 DPU 2.26c.

The REIT's yield accretive purchases of five properties last year has helped to push DPU to 2.26c for 1Q 2012. Annualised, this would give us a DPU of 9.04c. Based on the REIT's last closing price of 97.5 per unit, we are still looking at a distribution yield of more than 9%. 9.27% to be more exact.

With a NAV/unit of $1.04, the REIT is still trading at a discount to NAV even though its unit price has risen significantly in the last few months.

Gearing: 33.9%.

Interest cover ratio: 5.5x.

Occupancy: 96% to 98.4%.

WALE: 2.6 years

Weighted average remaining land lease: 39.9 years.

The REIT will go XD on 25 April and income will be distributed on 29 May.

I would like to see the managers working to increase occupancy and negotiate lease renewals with positive rental reversions this year. If successfully executed, we could see DPU improving marginally in the next few quarters.

For anyone interested in investing in an industrial S-REIT for regular income, Sabana REIT would appear to be an attractive proposition even at current prices.

Related post:
Sabana REIT: 4Q 2011 results.

See presentation slides: here.

First REIT: 1Q 2012 DPU 1.93c and a higher fair value?

First REIT has declared a DPU of 1.93c. The unit price of First REIT has been rising steadily. It is clear that Mr. Market is willing to pay a gradually higher price for the REIT's units which leads me to wonder if we could see First REIT's distribution yield compressing to 6% which would bring it closer to PLife REIT's distribution yield which is currently under 6%. This could see the REIT's unit price going to $1.06.

When calculating distribution yield, I would rather use a DPU of 1.6c per quarter instead of 1.93c. Why? When we look at the numbers, we would see that the net property income (NPI) has improved 6% while distributable income has improved some 22%. This is because First REIT is still paying out its gains from divesting its Adam Road property. If we remove this component, the DPU should hover at 1.6c or so.

In fact, year on year, if we look at the distributions from operation, it has actually declined a marginal 1.4%. Total comprehensive income, even after the removal of the one off gain from the divestment of its Adam Road property, saw a reduction of some 7%; this is due to higher income tax expense. So, one would not be wrong to wonder if its estimated post rights DPU of about 1.6c per quarter in future could be maintained, everything else remaining equal.

When the REIT acquired its first property in South Korea, freehold Sarang Hospital, many were optimistic. However, the acquistion increased the REIT's gross revenue by 6.3% while increasing its operating expenses by 51.1%. Expectations for a higher DPU due to the acquisition has yet to be met.

Some might say that the underperformance is to be expected since being the REIT's only facility in South Korea, there is no economies of scale per se. In fact, I wondered about this when the acquisition was announced last year.

See the relevant blog post: here (First REIT: Yield accretive purchase in South Korea).

Although S-REITs distribute a minimum of 90% of their income to unitholders unlike companies which pay dividends from their earnings, it might still be of interest to some to note that First REIT's earnings per unit has declined year on year from 2.13c to 1.51c. This takes into consideration its rights issue, of course.

With its NAV per unit at 79.99c, the REIT is now trading at a 15% premium to NAV.

What remains largely in the REIT's favour is its very low gearing level and if it were to gear up to 40% to make yield accretive purchases in locations where it could benefit from economies of scale, we could see its DPU bump up by more than 20%.

At current prices, I would hold and not add to my long position.

See financial statement: here.

Related post:
First REIT: To sell or not to sell?