CapitaLand Ascendas REIT H1 Net Property Income Dips 0.9% After Divestments

CapitaLand Ascendas REIT’s net property income edged down 0.9 percent year-on-year to S$523.4 million ($406.7 million) during the first six months of 2025 as the Singapore-listed trust recorded lower revenue after selling a raft of assets.

CLAR’s first-half gross revenue fell 2 percent year-on-year to S$754.8 million, mainly due to the divestment of five properties across Australia, Singapore and the US since February 2024 and the decommissioning of the Welwyn Garden City data centre near London for redevelopment, according to a Monday announcement. The decline was partly offset by the acquisition of a US warehouse earlier this year.

First-half distributable income rose marginally compared with a year earlier to S$331.1 million despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties, said William Tay, CEO and executive director of the REIT’s manager, which is owned by Temasek-controlled CapitaLand Investment.

“This underscores the continued strength of our diversified portfolio, operational management and disciplined execution of our capital management strategies,” Tay said.

Singapore Core Grows

CLAR’s portfolio occupancy remained healthy at 91.8 percent and leases renewed in the first half achieved a positive average rental reversion of 9.5 percent, according to the manager.

In January, the trust completed the purchase of DHL Indianapolis Logistics Center in the US state of Indiana for S$153.4 million. That deal followed closely on news that CLAR would acquire its first logistics development project in the US at a site in South Carolina for a total investment cost of S$94.8 million.

The acquisitions in Singapore of 9 Tai Seng Drive, a co-location data centre, and 5 Science Park Drive, the headquarters building of e-commerce player Shopee, for a total of S$724.6 million are due to be completed by the end of 2025.

“These two properties will further anchor CLAR in Singapore, with Singapore accounting for about 67 percent of AUM when the transactions are completed,” Tay said.

At the end of June, CLAR’s portfolio stood at 225 investment properties valued at S$16.8 billion, including S$11 billion in Singapore, S$2.1 billion in Australia, S$2 billion in the US and S$1.7 billion in Europe.

Science Park Redo Complete

CLAR and joint venture partner CapitaLand Development completed the redevelopment of 1 Science Park Drive in Singapore in the first half of 2025 at a total development cost of S$883 million.

Located in the Geneo cluster near Kent Ridge MRT station, the office and life sciences property has 95 percent of its total net lettable area of 103,200 square metres (1.1 million square feet) either committed or in advanced negotiations, according to the manager.

CLAR has six ongoing projects, including one development, three redevelopments and two asset enhancement initiatives, with an aggregate investment of S$498.4 million, the manager said. The projects are scheduled for completion between the third quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2028.