Ascott Residence Trust (ART) posted a solid set of 1Q19 results. Gross revenue increased 3% to S$115.9m while gross profit increased 12% to S$54.6m. DPU grew 7% YoY to 1.45 S cents.

Excluding a one-off realised exchange gain arising from the repayment of foreign currency bank loans, 1Q19 DPU grew 4% to 1.33 S cents or 18.9% of our full-year forecast. We consider this within expectations given the seasonality of DPU for ART.

Portfolio RevPAU increased 3% YoY to S$133. Standouts include Singapore and the Philippines which saw RevPAUs increase 22% and 25% in local currency terms, respectively.

We maintain HOLD on ART but place our fair value of S$1.25 under review pending further details.

Source: OCBC Research - 30 Apr 2019