Australian property trusts have improved their standing over the past year after cutting debt and repairing their balance sheets, according to a Standard & Poor’s report.

“This time last year, few Australian corporates were having as tough a time as A-REITs,” Craig Parker, an analyst at the credit rating company, said in an e-mailed statement. “Since then, rated A-REITs have recapitalized themselves with new equity and aggressively reduced expensive debt.”

Many have also cut property-development projects, sold off non-core assets and raised capital, Parker said.

bloomberg.com