3 Singapore REITs paying higher dividends. Are they worth buying?

What happened?

The outlook for Singapore REITs remains highly uncertain.

With US government bond yields staying high and the fundamentals mixed across various REIT sectors, it might be worth being prudent when investing in Singapore REITs.

Earlier, we shared that we can start by looking for Singapore REITs that are able to grow their dividends despite the industry headwinds. 

This can help to provide visibility on our dividend income streams from Singapore REITs while awaiting the industry outlook to improve. 

In this article, we dive deeper into three Singapore REITs that managed to report better distribution per unit (DPU) in their latest earnings.

3 Singapore REITs with higher dividends 

#1 – Keppel DC REIT

Keppel DC REIT is a data centre REIT with a portfolio of 24 data centres spread across 10 countries.

The REIT’s total assets under management (AUM) stood at approximately S$4.9 billion as of 31 March 2025.

Keppel DC REIT reported an impressive set of earnings for the first quarter of 2025, or 1Q 2025.

Gross revenue jumped 22.6% year on year to S$102.2 million, buoyed by higher contributions from contract renewals along with rental escalation clauses built into tenants’ leases.

Keppel DC REIT had a high portfolio occupancy of 96.5% as of 31 March 2025 along with a moderate gearing level of 30.2%, providing the REIT with a debt headroom of around S$886 million.

Its portfolio enjoyed a positive rental reversion of 7% for the quarter.

Net property income, or NPI, climbed 24.1% year on year to S$88.1 million.

The better performance was also attributed to the acquisition of two data centres in Singapore and one in Tokyo.

Management believes that agentic artificial intelligence (AI) will boost demand for data centres that serve AI inference workloads.

By 2028, inference AI is expected to make up 80% of total AI demand, up from just 20% currently.

DPU increased by 14.2% year on year to S$0.02503, helped by a 40.1% year-on-year surge in finance income from an Australian data centre note.

Annualising the 1Q 2025 DPU, Keppel DC REIT trades at a dividend yield of 4.6%, based on its closing share price of S$2.18 as of 24 May 2025.

This is inline with its historical average dividend yield of 4.7%.

Find out how much dividends you may receive as a shareholder of Keppel DC REIT with the calculator below. 

Related links:

• Keppel DC REIT share price history and share price target
• Keppel DC REIT dividend history and dividend forecast

#2 – AIMS APAC REIT

AIMS APAC REIT, or AAREIT, owns a portfolio of 28 properties with 25 in Singapore and 3 in Australia.

These properties are valued at around S$2.13 billion as of 31 March 2025.

Strong rental reversions and a resilient portfolio performance helped AAREIT to report a 5.3% year-on-year increase in gross revenue to S$186.6 million for its fiscal 2025 (FY2025) ending 31 March 2025.

The industrial REIT also boasted strong operating metrics, with portfolio occupancy at 93.6% and a positive rental reversion of 20%.

NPI edged up 2.1% year on year to S$133.7 million.

Aggregate leverage remained low at just 28.9% with 85% of AAREIT’s loans pegged to fixed rates.

The manager of the REIT is carrying out portfolio rejuvenation by conducting asset enhancement initiatives (AEIs) on several Singapore properties.

The refurbishment works at 7 Clementi Loop are around 60% complete and should be done by the second quarter of fiscal 2026 (2Q FY2026).

As for 15 Tai Seng Drive, close to 78% of works have been completed and the AEI should wrap up by 1Q FY2026.

Overall, AIMS APAC REIT’s DPU rose 2.6% year on year to S$0.096. Based on its share price of S$1.27 as of 23 May, AIMS APAC REIT trades at a dividend yield of 7.6%. 

This is inline with its historical average of 7.5%. 

Find out how much dividends you may receive as a shareholder of AIMS APAC REIT with the calculator below. 

Read also:

AIMS APAC REIT - DPU growth powered by strong rental reversions

Related links:

• AIMS APAC REIT share price history and share price target
• AIMS APAC REIT dividend history and dividend forecast

#3 – Elite UK REIT

Elite UK REIT owns mostly freehold properties in the UK which are located near town centres and transportation nodes.

The REIT is one of the largest providers of critical social infrastructure to the Department for Work and Pensions and its portfolio is worth around £416 million as of 31 December 2024.

For 1Q 2025, revenue inched up 0.6% year on year to £9.3 million while NPI shot up 24.4% year on year to £10.4 million.

NPI was positively impacted by £1.6 million of dilapidation settlement and lease surrender premium amounts.

Excluding these amounts, adjusted NPI would have risen by 4.9% year on year to £8.7 million.

The REIT’s manager is creating value for unitholders through its strategy of relet, recycle, and reposition.

Government assets in Salford, Billingham, and Edinburgh were relet at positive rental reversions ranging from 5% to 30% while properties within the portfolio were recycled at premiums to their book value.

Peel Park in Blackpool and Lindsay House in Dundee were repositioned into a data centre development site and purpose-built student accommodation, respectively.

Elite UK REIT’s key priorities are to execute proactive asset management while extending and diversifying its leases.

Overall, Elite UK REIT’s DPU climbed 9.6% year on year to £0.0076.

Annualising the 1Q 2025 DPU, Elite UK REIT trades at a dividend yield of 9.7%, based on its closing share price of £0.315 as of 23 May 2025.

The current dividend yield is slightly below its historical average dividend yield of 11.1%.

Find out how much dividends you may receive as a shareholder of Elite UK REIT with the calculator below. 

Read also: 

Elite UK REIT - Solid DPU growth amidst asset repositioning

Related links:

• Elite UK REIT share price history and share price target
• Elite UK REIT dividend history and dividend forecast

What would Beansprout do?

Despite pressure from elevated bond yields, there are still REITs that are able to grow their distribution per unit (DPU). 

Keppel DC REIT, AIMS APAC REIT and Elite UK REIT have demonstrated an ability to do that in their most latest earnings update.

This is driven by active portfolio management to drive higher net property income, as well as prudent capital management to keep finance costs under control.

In this case, Keppel DC REIT’s distributions were supported by strong industry fundamentals as well as accretive acquisitions made.

On the other hand, AIMS APAC REIT and Elite UK REIT have repositioned their portfolios through asset enhancement initiatives (AEI) or asset recycling. 

In addition, Keppel DC REIT and AIMS APAC REIT have their assets predominantly in Singapore, further limiting the impact of weaker regional currencies on distributions. 

Across the three names, there is highest potential upside to consensus share price target for Elite UK REIT and AIMS APAC REIT. 

Elite UK REIT consensus share price target of £0.373 is 18% above its share price of £0.315 as of 23 May 2025.

AIMS APAC REIT consensus share price target of S$1.47 is 15% above its share price of S$1.27 as of 23 May 2025.

It might be worth adding these names to your watch list if you are looking for REITs that are able to grow their dividends paid to unitholders. 

You can also screen for Singapore REITs with the our best Singapore REITs screener here. 

If you would like to gain exposure to Singapore REITs without researching about individual REITs, check out our guide to the best Singapore REIT ETFs here.  

If you are new to Singapore REITs, learn more about Singapore REITs here

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