EC World REIT conducted its virtual annual general meeting this morning (09 June 2020) at 10.00am, and as a unitholder, I have attended the meeting to learn about the latest developments from the top management.

The meeting was a short and simple one, lasting approximately 30 minutes, and in this post, you will find key updates of the presentation by Mr Goh Toh Sim, Executive Director and CEO:

Navigating the Covid-19 Pandemic:

• Business operations in China were strained as a result of the two-month shutdown in the country to contain the spread of Covid-19.
• However, as at 31 March 2020, tenants in all of EC World REIT’s assets have resumed operations, and business activities in China have largely resumed.

FY2019 – Key Highlights:

• Gross revenue increased by 3.0% on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis to S$99.1m.
• Distribution Per Unit for the financial year 2019 was 6.047 Singapore cents/unit (and this constitutes 98.7% of the income available for distribution to unitholders.)
• Portfolio valuation went up by 20.6% to RMB8,118m, largely due to the REIT’s acquisition of Fuzhou E-commerce (which is operated by leading omni-channel logistics service provider Ruyicang.)

Q1 FY2020 – Key Highlights:

• Gross revenue saw a 1.4% y-o-y decline to S$23.5m mainly due to recognition of rental rebates (amounting to RMB23.7m to tenants within its portfolio to help them mitigate the adverse impact of Covid-19), mitigated by the full quarter contribution from the newly acquired Fuzhou E-Commerce.
• Distribution Per Unit for the quarter under review was 1.158 Singapore cents/unit, with 5% of the amount available for distribution retained for prudence and financial fluidity.
• In terms of debt profile as at the end of Q1 FY2020:
  • Aggregate leverage: 38.6% (well within the new MAS limit of 50%)
  • All-in running interest rate: 4.3%
  • Weighted average term of debt expiry: 2.37 years
• The REIT’s portfolio occupancy profile as at the end of Q1 FY2020 is as follows:
  • Portfolio occupancy: 99.1%
  • 49.7% of the REIT’s portfolio (by net lettable area) consists of E-Commerce logistics (which Mr Goh updated was up from around 36% at IPO); On top of that, Mr Goh also shared that EC World REIT is the only S-REIT offering substantial access to the e-commerce logistics business
  • Weighted average lease expiry by net lettable area was 3.0 years, from the renewal of master leases, and from Fuzhou E-Commerce
  • In the remaining quarters ahead, the Manager will embark at selective enhancement work to maintain and improve the quality of assets in the REIT’s portfolio

Related Documents:

• Questions (Submitted by Unitholders), along with Answers (Provided by the REIT)
• Responses to Queries by SIAS on the REIT’s FY2019 Annual Report
• Presentation Slides

Disclaimer: At the time of writing, I am a unitholder of EC World REIT.

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