Ascott Residence Trust lowers DPU by 13.7%

Despite growth in revenues.

Ascott Residence Trust's distribution per unit (DPU) for the quarter ending in March fell by 0.24 S cents from a year a go to 1.51 cents.

According to OCBC Investment Research, this came even as gross revenue rose.

For the said quarter, its headline increased 5.4% to $111.3m, mainly due to the additional revenue of $5.8m from the acquisition of Sheraton Tribeca New York last year. However, it was partially offset by the decline in revenue of $1.8m from existing properties mainly in Singapore and the UK.

The group's gross profit fell 2.9% YoY to $47.2m despite the increase in revenue largely due to the recognition of operating lease expense on a straight-line basis in the United States.

This resulted to the distributable income to unitholders falling 8% YoY to $25.1m.