This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
Macquarie DDR Trust has recorded a 7.9% increase in distributable earnings to $46.9 million for the six months to December 31, 2006.
MDT’s chief executive David Dix said MDT’s accumulated return of 22.1% for the year to December 31, 2006 is a strong result.
“This result has been underpinned by a 24.8% leveraged total return from our real estate assets, driven by active asset management and continued strong demand for US value and convenience retail property
“MDT’s ability to deliver consistently high risk-adjusted returns reinforced the quality of the Trust’s assets as well as the capabilities of its US-based joint venture partner Developers Diversified Realty,” he added.
Dix said proactive management continued to drive performance for investors, with same store NOI growth of 1.9% for the 12 months to December 31, 2006 exceeding initial expectations of around 1.5% (calculated on the trust’s 25 properties held for more than 24 months).
Strong rent renewals also reinforced performance during the period, with 17 new leases and 28 leases renewed. New lease rent growth of 24.6% was achieved while new locations were secured for strong national tenants including DSW, Famous Footwear and Steve & Barry’s.
The portfolio remains highly let at 98.5%, an increase of 0.3% since June 30, 2006. Property revaluations during the six month period were driven by improved net operating income and demand for quality real estate.
Revaluations were undertaken on all 78 properties resulting in $US75.3 million uplift in value representing a 2.9% increase above previous book value.
“We maintain a keen eye for new assets with prospects to increase net operating income – looking for redevelopment or re-tenanting opportunities which will enhance returns without materially impacting risk.
“Our continued partnership with Developers Diversified seeks to deliver a broad range of new acquisition and redevelopment opportunities. A number of potential disposals have been identified and we will be looking to recycle the proceeds into properties with value add opportunities,” he said.
Yesterday, Dix said is resigning from his position as chief executive to pursue opportunity outside the Macquarie Bank Group.
Going forward, the MDT management team will remain focused on seeking opportunities to recycle capital from existing properties into new assets where it can use its expertise to add value and improve the trust’s earnings growth outlook.
Australian Property Journal
