SGX recently made amendments to Rule 705 of Listing Manual which were effective from 7 February 2020 in which companies can choose to adopt half-yearly financial reporting instead of quarterly financial reporting like previously. As of now around 50% of SREITs pay out dividend quarterly. If SREITs adopt this new half-yearly reporting, would their distribution frequency be revised to semi-annual too ?
As of now, below is the list of SREITs that have announced their change:
I've updated SREITs data page again to reflect the dividend frequency change(to be confirmed based on my reader comment, but is good to prepare for possible change) and ex-month changes. A lot of people actually waiting for 1Q result announcement to gauge the effect of Coronavirus, which is not possible now for the above. I believe more and more SREITs will follow, I will then update SREITs data from time to time.
| No. | Name | Reporting | Remark |
| 1 | ARA US Hospitality Trust, USD | Half-Yearly | |
| 2 | Ascendas India Trust | Half-Yearly | |
| 3 | Ascendas REIT | Half-Yearly | |
| 4 | Ascott Residence Trust | Half-Yearly | |
| 5 | Cache Logistics Trust | Half-Yearly | |
| 6 | CapitaLand Commercial Trust | Quarterly | Remain |
| 7 | CapitaLand Mall Trust | Quarterly | Remain |
| 8 | CapitaLand Retail China Trust | Half-Yearly | |
| 9 | ESR-REIT | Half-Yearly | Currently quarterly dividend, no info on change to semi-annually |
| 10 | IREIT Global | Half-Yearly | |
| 11 | Keppel DC REIT | Half-Yearly | |
| 12 | Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT, USD | Half-Yearly | |
| 13 | Keppel REIT | Half-Yearly | 1Q and 2Q remain as quarterly, subsequently half-yearly |
| 14 | Manulife US REIT, USD | Half-Yearly | |
| 15 | Suntec REIT | Half-Yearly | Currently quarterly dividend, no info on change to semi-annually |
I've updated SREITs data page again to reflect the dividend frequency change(to be confirmed based on my reader comment, but is good to prepare for possible change) and ex-month changes. A lot of people actually waiting for 1Q result announcement to gauge the effect of Coronavirus, which is not possible now for the above. I believe more and more SREITs will follow, I will then update SREITs data from time to time.
Hi Vince, even if a REIT or company adopts half-yearly reporting, it does not necessarily mean that the distribution frequency will need to be revised to half-yearly payout too. Some good models of how a REIT or a company that provides half-yearly reporting giving out quarterly dividend payouts can be seen in the Australian Securities Exchange.
ReplyDeleteOfficial financial reportings need to be provided every six months and for the first and third quarters, operational and financial updates can be provided. Hence, quarterly dividend payouts can be given in conjunction with those updates.
As an investor, I would prefer to have the above model, and to receive my dividend payouts earlier for reinvestments.
CK
Thanks for your info, I do not know ASX REITs do that. As the above REITs only announced that their next reporting will be based on 30 June, no information is provided whether they will provide any update quarterly. So it would be good to prepare for the change.
DeleteHowever, based on your comment, I have updated my post content in order not to misled my readers. Let those REITs announced distribution change officially. I too prefer quarter dividend.
Tq for your reply, Vince,.. Off the top of my head, I recalled two counters That I invested into that provided quarterly dividend payouts, namely Cromwell Property Group and Dicker Data Ltd. Aussie companies perform half-yearly reporting,... and almost ALL of their companies have their Financial Year from July till June of the following year.
ReplyDeleteThis is why Lendlease GCR's FY is from July 1st till June 30th...
I read of one company recently that changed its payout and reporting to half yearly too,.. and it's NOT good news to me. The company is a REIT : Keppel Infrastructure Trust. You might want to add this REIT to your table above.
With the above ann't, I would reduce my cash allocation to this REIT when I start to buy as valuations dip further. I will reallocate to another counter that gives out quarterly dividend payout, say,... DBS or CMT, which,.. last year, changed its payout frequency from twice a year to four times a year.
In my opinion, fiscal year ended at 4Q or 2Q makes little difference if they are distribute in semi-annually. There are 1/3 of SREITs that have fiscal year ended at 1Q & 3Q. If all follow semi-annual distribution, then dividend payout would be hardly balanced.
Delete3 REITS links to Keppel changed to half-yearly, so it is normal for KIT too. I used to include KIT, Accordia Golf Trut and HPH Trust in my spreadsheet, but removed it later. I feel that they doesn't operate like REITs. Now only left 2 business trusts in my spreadsheet, which are Ascendas India Trust & Dasin Retail Trust as both operate similar to REIT, previously RHT is included also.
Now is still unclear whether remaining REITs direction on reporting and dividend frequency. With recent dips, a lot of big caps do really look attractive.
Ok Vince,... tq again. I think I saw in a filing by Sasseur somewhere they intend to continue with dividend payout four times a year,... no mention of financial reporting though.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find the announcement, could you share out the link ? Sasseur previously practice semi-annual distribution policy then changed to quarter.
Delete