The manager of CapitaLand China Trust (CLCT) has reported gross revenue of RMB489.9 million ($103.3 million) for the 1QFY2022 ended March, up 24% from the gross revenue of RMB395 million in the corresponding period the year before.
Net property income (NPI) during the quarter increased 30.4% to RMB344.5 million from RMB264.2 million in the same period the year before.
The higher figures were due to the increase in traffic and sales in January and February until the Covid-19 wave in March.
During the quarter, the REIT reported a 0.3% y-o-y growth in sales, as well as an 8.0% y-o-y increase in sales per traffic.
In the 1QFY2022, the REIT also registered full contributions from its new business parks (from partial contributions in the 1QFY2021) and new contributions from logistics parks.
As at March 31, CLCT reported portfolio occupancy of 95.4% for its retail assets, 94.7% for its business parks and 97.6% for its logistics assets. Its retail portfolio has a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 2.2 years by gross rental income (GRI) and 3.0 by net lettable area (NLA). The REIT’s WALE for its business park portfolio stood at 1.8 years by GRI and NLA, whereas its WALE for its logistics park portfolio also came in at 1.8 years by GRI and NLA.
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As at March 31, CLCT has a total gearing of 38.1%, with an average cost of debt of 2.64%. The REIT has a total debt of $213.2 million for the FY2022, with 10.5% maturing by the end of the financial year.
According to the REIT manager, it has successfully secured the refinancing of $180.0 million due in FY2022 as well.
As at March 31, all of the REIT’s business parks remain open, with its operations unimpacted by Covid-19.
Within its logistics portfolio, Shanghai Fengxian and Kunshan Bacheng Logistics Park have paused operations due to Covid-19, although the REIT manager have said that its logistics portfolio is expected to be “largely resilient”.
In retail, the REIT manager says it is currently working with local authorities on the reopening of its malls, CapitaMall Aidemengdun, CapitaMall Qibao and CapitaMall Xuefu, which are currently closed.
Looking ahead, it warns that it is expected to provide “reasonable support” to its affected tenants on a case-by-case basis. The REIT manager adds that it will seek to file insurance claims to offset the cost of closure.
As at March 31, the REIT has a total of 11 retail assets, five business parks and four logistics parks with a total asset valuation of RMB24.8 billion.
Units in CLCT closed 2 cents lower or 1.67% down at $1.18 on April 25.
