Keppel Infrastructure Trust Q1 distributable income down 17.3% at S$53.7 million

[SINGAPORE] Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) on Thursday (May 14) reported a distributable income of S$53.7 million for the first quarter of 2026 – a 17.3 per cent decrease from S$65 million in the year-ago period.When excluding a one-off S$21.7 million divestment gain from the sale of its 50 per cent stake in Philippine Coastal in March 2025, distributable income was up 18.2 per cent year on year from S$45.5 million.Distributable income for the energy transition segment rose 19.7 per cent year on year to S$46.5 million from S$38.9 million. This was driven by higher contributions from Aramco Gas Pipelines Company, including residual cash surplus of S$5.8 million, German Solar Portfolio and the Borkum Riffgrund 2 wind farm.This was partially offset by lower contributions from piped-gas provider City Energy, whose funds from operations (FFO) dipped slightly to S$12 million mainly due to higher taxes paid.Distributable income for the environmental services segment increased 8.9 per cent year on year to S$7.1 million from S$6.5 million.This was primarily due to higher contributions from the Senoko Waste-to-Energy Plant, owing to the absence of extension capex in Q1 2026 compared with the previous year. However, this was partially offset by reduced distributable income contributions from the SingSpring Desalination Plant and Eco Management Korea.The distribution and storage segment posted a 9.7 per cent decrease in distributable income to S$21.3 million from S$23.6 million.This was largely attributed to lower contributions from Australian bus operator Ventura following a reduced stake held since Aug 12, as well as FFO-funded maintenance capex in Q1 2026 compared to debt-funded capex in the prior year.Meanwhile, KIT’s industrial infrastructure business Ixom reported FFO of S$16.6 million for Q1 2026, a 6 per cent decrease from Q1 2025 mainly due to higher taxes paid.A new digital infrastructure segment, formed following the completed acquisition of Global Marine Group on Nov 25, contributed S$3 million to distributable income for its first full quarter.In terms of capital management, the trust’s net gearing stood at 41.9 per cent as at Mar 31, up from 38.7 per cent as at Dec 31, 2025, mainly due to reduced cash balance.Its interest coverage ratio increased to 8.6 times, from 7.6 times at the end of December. The weighted average cost of debt remained stable at 4.4 per cent.As part of its ongoing capital recycling and growth strategy, KIT has committed up to S$128.1 million for a proposed follow-on acquisition of an interest in the Keppel Merlimau Cogen Plant. Additionally, the proposed acquisition of Crown Coaches for Ventura is expected to be completed around Q2 2026.Units of KIT fell 0.9 per cent or S$0.005 to close at S$0.53 on Wednesday.