Dividends act as a stream of passive income that can help to sustain your lifestyle when you retire.
Hence, it’s not surprising for income investors to search for dividend-paying stocks to add to their investment portfolios.
REITs are an asset class that pays out regular distributions and are suitable for income-seeking investors.
With the earnings season just over, we highlight four REITs that will be paying out their distributions this month.
Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU)
Keppel DC REIT is a data centre REIT that owns a portfolio of 23 data centres across nine countries.
The REIT has assets under management (AUM) of S$3.7 billion as of 31 December 2022.
The data centre REIT reported steady growth in distribution per unit (DPU) for the second half of 2022 (2H 2022).
Gross revenue rose 4.3% year on year to S$141.8 million while net property income (NPI) inched up 4% year on year to S$129.3 million.
DPU increased by 4.8% year on year to S$0.05165, and this DPU will be paid out on 14 March.
For 2022, Keppel DC REIT’s DPU increased by 3.7% year on year to S$0.10214.
The REIT’s portfolio enjoyed a very high occupancy of 98.5% and also has a long weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 8.4 years.
Its aggregate leverage stood at 36.4% and around three-quarters of the REIT’s loans are on fixed rates.
Mapletree Industrial Trust (SGX: ME8U)
Mapletree Industrial Trust, or MIT, is an industrial REIT with 85 properties in Singapore and 56 in the US comprising hi-tech buildings, flatted factories, and data centres.
The REIT’s AUM stood at S$8.8 billion as of 31 December 2022.
For MIT’s fiscal 2023’s third quarter (3Q FY2023), gross revenue increased 5% year on year to S$170.4 million.
NPI came in at S$128.8 million, up 4.9% year on year.
DPU, however, dipped by 2.9% year on year to S$0.0339.
This DPU will be paid out to unitholders on 14 March if they had chosen the cash option, or will be credited to unitholders in units if they had chosen the scrip option.
MIT’s trailing 12-month DPU came in at S$0.1373, giving its units a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 5.8%.
The REIT’s portfolio enjoyed a slight bump in occupancy from 95.6% to 95.7%.
MIT’s balance sheet remained robust with gearing at 37.2% along with a weighted average funding cost of 3.3%.
Redevelopment of the Kolam Ayer cluster is proceeding well, with one of the properties (165 Kallang Way) obtaining its Temporary Occupation Permit in November last year.
CapitaLand China Trust (SGX: AU8U)
CapitaLand China Trust, or CLCT, is a China-focused REIT with 11 shopping malls, five business park properties and four logistics park properties in its portfolio.
This portfolio has a gross floor area of around two million square metres and is spread out across 12 different Chinese cities.
The REIT reported an 8.6% year on year decline in gross revenue to S$183.9 million for 2H 2022 because of higher rental relief and downtime for several malls due to asset enhancement initiatives.
NPI fell 11.8% year on year to S$114.7 million while DPU fell sharply by 24.4% year on year to S$0.034.
Unitholders will receive this distribution on 30 March.
For 2022, gross revenue inched up 1.4% year on year to S$383.2 million with NPI edging up 1.5% year on year to S$254.2 million.
DPU for the year came in 14.1% lower than the prior year at S$0.075.
CLCT should see operating conditions improve this year as China reopens its borders and normalcy returns.
Gearing for the REIT stood at 39.6% as of 31 December 2022 and 71% of its loans were on fixed rates.
Cromwell European REIT (SGX: CWBU)
Cromwell European REIT, or CEREIT, invests in around 110 predominantly-freehold properties in countries in Europe and the Nordic regions such as Italy, France, Finland, Denmark, and Germany, to name a few.
Its portfolio stood at €2.5 billion as of 31 December 2022.
For 2H 2022, gross revenue rose 13.4% to €114.7 million while NPI increased by 5.5% year on year to €69.4 million.
DPU ticked up 0.4% year on year to €0.08494.
This distribution will be paid out on 31 March.
CEREIT’s DPU for 2022 fared slightly better, rising by 1.3% year on year to €0.17189.
The REIT also announced sturdy operating metrics, with occupancy hitting a new record high of 96% along with a positive rental reversion of 5.7% for 2022.
Gearing came in at 39.4% and 78% of the REIT’s debt was either hedged or on fixed rates.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Keppel DC REIT and Mapletree Industrial Trust.
