Ascendas India Trust Q3 net income down 12%

Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust), a Singapore-based business trust focused on property investment in India, today reported a 12 per cent year-on-year drop in third quarter net income to 17 million Singapore dollars.

The decline reported by the Trustee-Manager of a-iTrust was due to a retrospective increase in electricity tariffs at the International Tech Park in Bangalore (ITPB) and lower-than-usual property expenses due to the reversal of a doubtful debt provision.

A-iTrust's distributable income for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, was 7 per cent lower year-on-year at 13.2 million Singapore dollars, said its Singapore parent group, Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Pte Ltd.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Trustee-Manager, Jonathan Yap, said: "We are pleased to report that the occupancy rate of a-iTrust's existing portfolio remains strong and ended the quarter at 98 per cent."

In addition, a-iTrust's operating portfolio expanded by 25 per cent, or 1.2 million square feet, in December, 2010, with the completion of Park Square, a retail mall in ITPB, and Zenith, an IT multi-tenant building (MTB) at the International Tech Park Chennai (ITPC).

Park Square not only increases a-iTrust's income stream, but also offers additional retail and food options in ITPB.

Furthermore, Voyager -- the first building within ITPB's Special Economic Zone (SEZ) -- will add another 0.5 million sq ft to a-iTrust's portfolio when completed in the middle of 2011.

"As always, we remain active in exploring expansion opportunities, be it via additional development or third-party acquisitions, with the aim to continually provide yield accretion to unit holders," said Yap.

He said a-iTrust's portfolio of 5.94 million sq ft of completed space is fairly evenly distributed between Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

About 1.2 million sq ft was recently completed in December, 2010, namely Park Square (a 450,000-sq ft retail mall in ITPB) and Zenith (a 742,000-sq ft IT MTB in ITPC).

Going forward, a-iTrust has proposed to develop about 1.7 million sq ft of new space, he said.

A further 2.5 million sq ft of space could be developed within the portfolio, which is largely within the SEZ in ITPB, Yap said in a financial statement issued in Singapore.