Macquarie DDR Trust - Forecast Distribution Upgrade and FX Hedging Update
06 January 2004
The Manager
Company Announcements
Australian Stock Exchange Limited
20 Bridge Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Dear Sir
Macquarie DDR Trust - Forecast Distribution Upgrade and FX Hedging Update
Macquarie DDR Trust (MDT) is pleased to announce an upgrade to its forecast distributions for the period ending 30 June 2004 and for the year ending 30 June 2005.
The upgraded forecast cash distributions per Unit relative to forecasts in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) dated 13 October 2003, are as follows:
| Upgraded Forecast | PDS Forecast | |
|---|---|---|
| Period to 30 June 2004 | 5.54 cents | 5.48 cents |
| Year Ending 30 June 2005 | 9.37 cents | 9.27 cents |
The upgraded forecasts are possible largely because of the achievement of favourable interest and FX hedging rates relative to the PDS, as detailed in the ASX announcement dated 26 November 2003.
In addition, MDT has achieved a gross profit of approximately $2.7 million from foreign exchange hedging implemented prior to listing to protect unitholders from adverse movements in exchange rates. This amount has been transferred to retained earnings and does not form part of the upgraded distribution forecasts detailed above.
Foreign Exchange Hedging of Forecast Distributions
MDT's policy is to hedge the foreign exchange risk on 100% of estimated distributions for years 1 and 2 and 90% of estimated distributions for years 3 to 5. This hedging profile will be maintained on a rolling quarterly basis.
Consistent with this policy Macquarie DDR Management Limited (Manager) has executed hedging on behalf of MDT, resulting in maximum weighted average hedge rates for distributions as set out in the following table.
| Financial Year Ended | Weighted Average Maximum Hedge Rate |
|---|---|
| 30 June 2004 | 0.7060 |
| 30 June 2005 | 0.6870 |
| 30 June 2006 | 0.6726 |
| 30 June 2007 | 0.6621 |
| 30 June 2008 | 0.6584 |
In addition to the maximum hedge rates above, MDT unitholders may also benefit from more favourable exchange rates if the prevailing exchange rate is below the maximum average rate in any given quarter.
The maximum average rates set out above for FY04 and FY05 are as detailed in the ASX announcement dated 26 November 2003.
Yours faithfully
Macquarie DDR Management Limited
David Dix
General Manager