The ASX dividend share Dexus Industria REIT (ASX: DXI) is an appealing investment to consider, in my opinion. There are a few reasons to think it's an attractive business and I'm going to get into that very soon.

First, I'll mention what it does. It's a real estate investment trust (REIT) which is primarily invests in high-quality industrial warehouses. As at 31 December 2024, it had an investment property portfolio valued at $1.4 billion and is located across Australia's major cities.

I'm not expecting the business to double in value this year, but I do believe it has a lot of positives going for it.

Defensive earnings

Commercial property businesses on the ASX usually have tenants locked in for multiple years. This means the REIT can look forward to rental income (and rental profits) because the leases are locked in, rather than relying on customers to continue buying.

In the FY25 half-year result, it reported a high portfolio occupancy rate of 99.5% thanks to "strong leasing outcomes".

The ASX dividend share reported a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 5.6 years, with "minimal near-term lease expiries". That will result in strong defensive earnings, in my view.

This could be useful at a time when there's uncertainty amid the US tariff decisions.

Distribution yield

As an ASX dividend share, I'd hope for a good dividend yield. The business pays a high proportion of its rental earnings as a distribution each year.

It is expecting to pay an annual distribution per security of 16.4 cents in FY25. That would translate into a distribution yield of 6.4%. At a time when the RBA is starting to cut rates, I think this is an appealing yield for investors to consider.

Good tailwinds for earnings

The business' rental potential is benefiting from a number of tailwinds, including e-commerce growth, data centre growth, increasing refrigeration requirements (for food and pharmaceuticals) and so on. It also has a project pipeline, which continues to add to earnings as they're completed.

At the HY25 result, the fund manager of the REIT, Gordon Korkie said:

Our portfolio continues to deliver a resilient income stream with embedded growth, and solid leasing outcomes underpinning future growth. Valuation growth has resumed for the first time since FY22, with industrial assets continuing to attract significant interest from a diverse range of investors, as evidenced by transaction volumes above pre covid levels. We remain focused on leveraging our strong balance sheet to invest in attractive investment opportunities to enhance portfolio quality and deliver strong returns.

We continue to deploy capital into our development pipeline. The projects completed during the half and committed projects are earnings accretive and improve overall portfolio quality through an investment in modern, highly functional warehouses. Momentum has been generated with four new developments activated after achieving two pre-commitments at ASCEND at Jandakot during the half, which are expected to deliver yields on cost above our target threshold of 6.25%.

Industrial market conditions remain favourable. While demand has moderated from the extraordinary levels reached in recent years, strong population growth and higher online penetration rates are expected to continue to support demand. In addition, supply levels are moderate which continues to support strong operating conditions, as evidenced by the double-digit re-leasing spreads achieved across our industrial re-leasing during the half and high occupancy levels.

Asset discount

As of 31 December 2024, the ASX dividend share had net tangible assets (NTA) of $3.32. This reflects the underlying value of the business, including the properties and the debt.

Based on the current Dexus Industria REIT share price, it's trading at a 23% discount to its NTA. That's a large discount, in my eyes.

I think this is a good time to invest, considering the uncertain outlook for the global economy and stock market.