Embassy REIT Provides Operational Update for Second Quarter of FY2020-21

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 1 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Embassy Office Parks REIT ('Embassy REIT'), India's first listed REIT and the largest in Asia by area, is pleased to provide the following update on its operations and financial position for the second quarter of the financial year 2020-21.
Business Continuity during COVID-19
All our properties across India continue to remain open and operate in compliance with all government regulations to support business continuity of our occupiers
Over 95 per cent of our occupiers and over 15,500 employees operated from our properties in September 2020, compared to 8,500 employees on an average during 1Q FY2021
Construction work continued across 2.7 million square feet (msf) ongoing development within existing campuses; labour ramp-up at site now at c.80 per cent of peak capacity
Health and Safety
Continued support to our occupiers as they re-populate their offices, launched #OfficeAgain campaign to engage and update employees on various health and safety initiatives
Received the British Safety Council's global benchmark certification for health and safety practices implemented in controlling the spread of COVID-19 across our pan India office portfolio
Received the British Standards Institution's assurance certificate on our Environmental, Social & Governance processes for 2019-20 in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework
Rental Collections
Rental collections for 2Q FY2021 from office occupiers remained robust at 98.5 per cent (as of date), in-line with robust office rental collections of 99.9 per cent for 1Q FY2021
Rental increases of 11 per cent achieved on 1.9 msf in 2Q FY2021 across 18 office leases, with YTD rental increases of 12 per cent on 3.7 msf across 40 office leases
Financial Position
Successfully raised listed debentures aggregating to Rs 7.5 billion at a competitive 7.25 per cent quarterly coupon, to be utilized towards refinancing existing debt, construction development and for general corporate purposes
Conservative balance sheet with low leverage of 16 per cent as of September 30, 2020
Strong liquidity position with existing cash and undrawn commitments of Rs 12.2 billion as of September 30, 2020
"The continued resilience of our business is reflected in our robust rent collections, gradual ramp-up in occupiers working in our parks, and our recent health and safety certifications received from global renowned institutions. Further, our recent debt raise at competitive rates in the current volatile markets reflects the strength of our balance sheet and our ability to access liquidity," said Mike Holland, CEO of Embassy REIT.
The information above contains certain financial measures which are not audited or reviewed. Embassy REIT will announce its detailed 2Q FY2021 business and financial performance update post its 2Q Board Meeting and will release the date and time of its 2Q earnings call in due course.
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