Singapore, November 06, 2015 -- Moody's Investors Service has affirmed Ascott Residence Trust's
(Ascott REIT) Baa3 issuer rating and assigned a provisional (P)Baa3 rating
to its SGD1.0 billion Multicurrency Medium Term Securities Program
of Ascott REIT MTN Pte. Ltd.
The program was established by Ascott REIT through its wholly owned subsidiary
- Ascott REIT MTN Pte. Ltd. - and is unconditionally
and irrevocably guaranteed by DBS Trustee Limited, in its capacity
as the trustee of Ascott REIT.
The provisional rating is only applicable to the issuance of senior unsecured
notes from the Multicurrency Medium Term Securities Program.
The outlook for the ratings is stable.
RATINGS RATIONALE
Ascott REIT's Baa3 issuer rating reflects its established market position,
reinforced by an enlarged portfolio of assets that is diversified across
Asia-Pacific, Europe and America. This partially mitigates
the operational volatility inherent in the short leases of hospitality
assets. In addition, the rating takes into account the support
of Ascott REIT's strong sponsor, The Ascott Limited, where
the trust can leverage on its sponsor's expertise, track record,
and strong network of relationship banks. The rating also reflects
the trust's stable and healthy financial profile, supported by a
track record of prudent financial management.
Nonetheless, Ascott REIT's rating is constrained by its high proportion
of secured borrowings when compared to its rated peers and the inherent
liquidity risks associated with S-REITs, as a result of their
high dividend payout ratios and minimum cash balances.
In 3Q2015, the REIT acquired six properties in Australia,
Japan and the US and the remaining 40% interest in two Japan properties,
amounting to approximately SGD500 million. In September,
the REIT also divested six rental housing properties in Japan for JPY4,475
million (approximately SGD52.6 million).
As a result of these recent acquisitions, the REIT's leverage
increased in 3Q 2015 to approximately 44% adjusted debt / total
deposited assets, which is close to the 45% rating downgrade
trigger. However, its EBITDA interest coverage ratio remains
consistent with its current ratings at approximately 3.6x.
"While we note the increase in leverage, which is currently
at the high end of our rating parameters for its Baa3 ratings, we
expect the REIT to manage its leverage ratio down to approximately 42%-43%
adjusted debt/total deposited assets over the coming 12 months.
Furthermore, we expect its EBITDA interest coverage ratio to continue
to remain consistent with its current ratings at above 3x level,"
says Jacintha Poh, a Moody's Assistant Vice President and
Analyst.
"Nonetheless, given the limited headroom under its leverage
ratio, we would expect Ascott REIT to fund any upcoming acquisitions
with equity in order to maintain its leverage level consistent with the
current Baa3 ratings," says Clara Kim, a Moody's Analyst.
In June 2015, Ascott REIT issued SGD250 million of perpetual securities,
following their maiden issuance of SGD150 million in October last year,
to partially fund its acquisitions. In assessing the debt leverage
and interest coverage ratios, Moody's adjusts half of the
perpetual securities as debt, and the other half as equity.
Similarly, Moody's has included half of the perpetual securities'
distribution in interest expense in our adjusted metrics.
The rating outlook is stable, reflecting Moody's expectation
that Ascott REIT will continue to generate stable cash flows from its
portfolio, maintain financial discipline in its pursuit of growth,
and keep its credit profile within targeted parameters.
An upgrade in the rating is unlikely given the limited headroom under
its leverage triggers, however, positive momentum could arise
should Ascott REIT: (1) improves its liquidity and financial flexibility
by lowering its encumbered assets ratio and reliance on secured borrowings,
such that adjusted secured debt/total deposited assets is less than 15%;
and/or (2) improves its credit metrics, such that adjusted debt/total
deposited assets stays below 35%, and EBITDA interest coverage
exceeds 4x on a consistent basis.
On the other hand, the rating could be pressured downwards if:
(1) the operating environment deteriorates, leading to higher vacancy
levels and declines in operating cash flows; and/or (2) the trust's
financial metrics weaken, with adjusted debt/total deposited assets
exceeding 45% and EBITDA interest coverage falling below 3x on
a consistent basis.
In addition, further acquisitions made without long-term
committed funding in place, and a disruption in its access to funding
could place the trust's rating under pressure.
The principal methodology used in these rating was Global Rating Methodology
for REITs and Other Commercial Property Firms published in July 2010.
Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for
a copy of this methodology.
Ascott Residence Trust is a hospitality real estate investment trust focusing
on serviced residences, listed in the Singapore Exchange since March
2006. It has an asset portfolio of 90 serviced residences across
38 cities in 14 countries, with an appraised value of SGD4.7
billion as of 30 September 2015. The trust is sponsored by The
Ascott Limited (unrated), an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary
of CapitaLand Limited (unrated), which in turn owns 46% of
Ascott REIT.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this rating action, the
associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Jacintha Poh
Asst Vice President - Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077
Laura Acres
MD - Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077
Moody's affirms Ascott REIT's Baa3 issuer rating and assigns (P)Baa3 to Ascott REIT's Multicurrency MTN Program