Kore rises 8.3% to 4-month high after H2 results, early resumption of distributions

[SINGAPORE] Units of Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit (Kore) rose in early trade on Tuesday (Feb 3) after the office-focused US Reit posted H2 earnings and announced that it is resuming distributions early.

The units rose to US$0.26 as at 9.04 am, up by US$0.02 or 8.3 per cent, with some 3.8 million shares changing hands. This marked the counter’s highest price in over four months as it last traded higher on Sep 15, 2025.

By 11.11 am, units of Kore had eased to US$0.245, still up by 2.1 per cent or US$0.005, with over 5.7 million shares transacted.

Early resumption of distributions

On Tuesday morning, Kore announced the early resumption of its distributions and posted a distribution per unit of US$0.0025 for the second half of the financial year ended Dec 31, 2025.

It previously declared a suspension of distributions from H2 FY2023 to H2 FY2025 as part of recapitalisation plans to address capital needs and leverage concerns. The manager noted that it plans to start with a “conservative payout ratio”, with the aim of increasing it to a “sustainable level aligned with long-term portfolio performance”.

This comes although the real estate investment trust’s distributable income fell 3.1 per cent to US$23.1 million for H2, from US$23.8 million in the previous corresponding period.

The lower distributable income came amid higher financing costs due to the expiration of interest rate swaps in 2025, but was partially offset by higher cash net property income (NPI), said the manager.

H2 revenue climbed 4.9 per cent to US$75.6 million and NPI increased 10.3 per cent to US$40 million. The improved revenue was attributed to higher other operating income and higher recoveries income due to the increase in recoverable property expenses, it added.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, the manager announced the termination of the real estate investment trust’s outsourced US asset manager, Pacific Oak Capital Advisors.