Macquarie Office Trust earnings, distributions shrink
The Macquarie Office Trust has reported a reduction in core earnings, to $90.9 million, in its half-year results to December 31, 2008.
The Macquarie Office Trust portfolio, which has investments in Australia, the US and Eastern Europe, was independently revalued down 10.5 per cent in the last six months of 2008.
The second half of 2008 saw the Macquarie Office Trust undertaking significant asset sales, including its 50 per cent share in the Wachovia Financial Centre in Miami for US$182.5 million.
The trust has also entered into an unconditional contract to sell Naylor House in Adelaide for $49 million, while a further two Australian assets totalling $128 million are in due diligence.
The group also conducted a $508 million capital raising in the second half of last year. The group’s asset sales and capital raising allowed it to renegotiate its $650 million syndicate loan facility, extending it until September 2011.
The group also repaid $603 million of debt to January 2009. Gearing in the trust remains at 43.5 per cent.
The last six months of 2008 also saw Macquarie Group buying more of its own. During the trust’s capital raising initiatives, Macquarie Group took up $71.8 million of Macquarie Office Trust units, taking Macquarie’s investment to 14 per cent.
The distribution paid to investors in the second half of last year was 2.25 cents per unit, and the distribution outlook for the next year has deteriorated again. The March 2009 quarter distribution is estimated at 0.75 cents per unit, with the annualised distribution sitting at 3 cents per unit.
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