A REIT-silient Quarter for my Famous 5 S-REITs Part II: MPACT and PLife

In my previous post, I shared my take on the latest earnings by Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX: J69U), Mapletree Industrial Trust (SGX: ME8U), and Mapletree Logistics Trust‘s (SGX: M44U).

In this post, I will share my view on the remaining two Singapore REITs in my portfolio: Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (SGX: N2IU) and ParkwayLife REIT (SGX: C2PU).

As seen from the data, it’s a challenging environment. In general, cost of borrowing increased and and occupancy declined. Additionally, REITs with overseas properties are affected by regional currency depreciation.

Amid these challenges, I am satisfied with the overall performance. Interestingly, the total DPU received is slightly higher.

MPACT 1Q 2024/25: Challenges Persist, But Attractive Yield

Among the five REITs, I was most uncertain about MPACT’s 1Q performance. Unlike the other four REITs, whose performance I anticipated fairly accurately, I was unsure how MPACT’s 1Q results would turn out due to conflicting signals since the last earnings report.

I had mixed feelings when I saw the results this evening. While DPU was 4.1% lower YoY, it was better than my projected quarterly DPU of 2.0 cents in my previous post.

The jump in finance costs was significantly higher than my estimation. I had expected an increase of S$6.5 million for the full year, but this quarter’s increase was already S$5.3 million!

The occupancy of Chiba properties performed slightly better than anticipated. I assumed zero rental income from the space vacated by the two main tenants, but fortunately, there was still some revenue generated.

When I repurchased MPACT shares in May, I did so not because I believed everything was fine, but rather because I thought the price had more or less factored in the headwinds.

My thinking has not changed. Hence, while I recently rebalanced my portfolio and trimmed some holdings, I will be holding on to the remaining shares.

PLife 1H 2024: JPY Hedges to the Rescue

As I discussed in my article  “Unlock Your Future Income: 3 Top Singapore REITs to Consider Now”, PLife’s proactive capital management has cushioned the impact of depreciation of JPY against SGD.

For the second quarter in a row, the hedges offset the decline in revenue with foreign exchange gains. This has allowed them to announce a 3.5% YoY increase in DPU to 7.54 cents.

While the current yield of about 4.2% is not enticing, PLife’s DPU is projected to jump by more than 20% for FY2026, upon the completion of Project Renaissance at Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

PLife has not disappoint me since I bought it nine years ago. There’s no reason for me to feel otherwise at the moment. Hence, I will continue to hold on to my current shares.


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