N o t e t o u n i t h o l d e r s
Dear Unitholders
The Financial Year ended 31 March 2015 (“FY14/15”) marked a period of
firm growth for a-iTrust.
We remained focussed on providing the right product, at the right price
point, to our customers while creating value for our unitholders. Our efforts
have resonated with our customers as reflected in the portfolio’s committed
occupancy of 97% as at 31 March 2015. In FY14/15, we signed leases
totalling 2.3 million sq ft as we leased out space that became available
through expiries. In Chennai, we achieved strong rental reversions on expiries
as there was a dearth of supply in that location. Demand remained stable
in Bangalore. We progressively recognised income from Aviator, a new
multi-tenanted building in Bangalore that received its occupation permit in
January 2014. All of the above factors helped us grow our FY14/15 revenue
by 6% to ₹
₹
6.1 billion compared to the previous year. In terms of the Trust’s
FY14/15 distribution per unit, we recorded year-on-year growth of 7% to
4.86 Singapore cents.
In India, macroeconomic indicators are pointing towards a resurgent Indian
economy. Aided by lower oil prices, inflation in India has fallen from 8.3% in
March 2014 to 5.0% as at February 2015
1
. India’s current account deficit is
forecast to decrease from its peak of 4.9% in FY11/12 to 1.3% in FY14/15
2
.
The current growth forecast for India’s GDP in 2015 is encouraging at 7.5%
3
.
These developments have helped stabilise the Indian Rupee. Compared to
March 2014, the Indian Rupee has strengthened by 6% against the Singapore
dollar in March 2015. A stable Indian Rupee bodes well for a-iTrust as we
convert rentals earned in Indian Rupees into Singapore dollars and pay out
Singapore dollar distributions to our unitholders.
With the Indian economy poised for faster growth, we want to maximise
our potential by capitalising on the rising demand for quality IT space. We
currently have land banks in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad that can
yield in total 3.6 million sq ft of potential floor area. In Bangalore, we have
started constructing Victor, a 0.6 million sq ft IT building that is expected to
be completed in 2016. In Hyderabad, we are developing a new 0.4 million
sq ft IT building and a multi-level car park with 660 car park lots to meet
demand in that city. In Chennai, CyberVale, which was recently acquired
by the Trust, has vacant land that will be developed into a 0.4 million sq ft
building when we have clear visibility of leasing demand.
On the acquisition front, in December 2014, we announced the acquisition
of BlueRidge Phase II (“BlueRidge”), a 1.5 million sq ft IT SEZ for
approximately S$133.0 million (₹
₹
6.4 billion)
4
. The acquisition of BlueRidge
will take place over phases. Currently, we have provided construction
financing to the vendor, and we expect to assume control by December
2016 provided the vendor meets pre-agreed conditions. BlueRidge marks our
entry into Pune, an important market for both existing and potential clients.
In March 2015, we also completed the acquisition of CyberVale, a 0.6 million
sq ft IT SEZ in Chennai, from Ascendas Group for around S$35.9 million
(₹
₹
1.7 billion)
4
. CyberVale has high occupancy, multinational tenants and is
located close to Oragadam, the car manufacturing hub of Chennai.
“With the Indian economy
poised for faster growth,
we want to maximise our
potential by capitalising
on the rising demand for
quality IT space.”
1
Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
2
Source: Reserve Bank of India
3
Source: International Monetary Fund, April 2015
4
Amount translated into Singapore dollars using spot exchange rate at the time of investment.
5
Source: National Association of Software and Services Companies
Philip Yeo
Chairman
ASCENDAS india trust ANNUAL REPORT 2014/15
