[SINGAPORE] Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (MUST) posted a portfolio occupancy of 69.9 per cent on Thursday (May 15) for its first quarter ended March, down from 73.9 per cent in the previous quarter.
The pure-play US office Reit manager explained that this was largely due to the expiry of leases at its Diablo property in the submarket of Tempe, Arizona.
Notable leases executed over the quarter included the Phipps’ and Centerpointe’s new leases of 27,000 square feet (sq ft) and 29,000 sq ft, respectively.
The Reit posted a negative rental reversion of 8.9 per cent for Q1, a further drop from negative 5.1 per cent in the previous quarter,
According to the manager, more than 1 million sq ft of leasing pipeline continues to be generated due to “proactive marketing”.
Gearing stood at 59.4 per cent for the quarter, falling from 60.8 per cent in the previous quarter, with an interest coverage ratio of 1.7 times.
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Additionally, the Reit’s portfolio weighted average lease expiry (Wale) by net lettable area was 4.8 years as at end-March, up from five years in Q4 2024. For leases signed in Q1, Wale stood at 4.2 years.
Of its loans, 73.3 per cent remain hedged as at Mar 31. The manager of MUST said that it targets to maintain optimal hedge ratio of 50 to 80 per cent, as it repays debt from proceeds from expected sale of assets in line with its recapitalisation plan.
Looking ahead, MUST will focus on strategic deals that maximise liquidity and optimise capital to prioritise debt repayment, which will be about US$290 million since November 2024.
The sale of Peachtree – a 28-storey Class A office building in Atlanta, Georgia – for about US$133.8 million, was announced on May 11. It will repay around 78 per cent of its 2026 debts, said the manager of the Reit.
Along with its previous divestments of Capitol and Plaza, MUST would achieve about 82 per cent of its net proceeds targets under the Master Restructuring Agreement.
Units of MUST closed 1.6 per cent or US$0.001 lower at US$0.063 on Wednesday.