SINGAPORE (Jan 25): The manager of CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT) has announced a 4Q17 distribution per unit of 2.08 cents, down 13% from 2.39 cents a year ago.
This follows the absence of income from One George Street, Golden Shoe Car Park and Wilkie Edge after their divestments in 2H17.
The latest set of results brings CCT’s DPU for FY17 to 8.66 cents, down 4.6% from 9.08 cents a year ago.
Gross revenue for 4Q17 fell in 3.8% to $86.3 million compared to $89.7 million in 4Q16, while net property income (NPI) booked a 4% decline to $68 million from $70 million in the previous year.
Both were largely attributable to the trust’s divestments of the three properties, offset by higher gross revenue and NPI from CapitaGreen and contributions from the newly-acquired Asia Square Tower 2 (AST2) in Nov 2017.
While AST2 Co., the company which AST2 is held under, did not pay dividend this quarter, CCT's distributable income for 4Q17 included a top-up of $1.1 million for the loss of distributable income arising from the divestments of One George Street and Wilkie Edge, as well as $8 million of tax-exempt income.
With the acquisition of AST2, the portfolio investment value was $10.4 billion as at end-2017, representing a 25.4% y-o-y increase. The trust’s adjusted net asset value (NAV) per unit is $1.74, after deducting the distributable income payable to unitholders.
Soo Kok Leng, chairman of the manager, says CCT’s divestments in 2H positions the trust well for long-term growth with a higher-quality portfolio and more diversified tenant mix.
Looking ahead, Soo says CCT will focus its efforts on enhancing the performance of the newly acquired AST2 and ensuring that the redevelopment of Golden Shoe Car Park into a landmark integrated development is on track.
“2017 has been an exciting year of growth for CCT. We are pleased to have delivered a robust set of full year results that saw a strong lift from CapitaGreen, which was 100% leased as at 31 December 2017. We aim to replicate the success of CapitaGreen with the redevelopment of Golden Shoe Car Park when it is completed in 2021,” comments Kevin Chee, CEO of the manager.
“To leverage opportunities in the recovering office sector, we will manage expiring leases in the next few years with a focus on optimising the balance between higher rentals and lower vacancies,” he adds.
Units in CCT closed flat at $1.91 on Wednesday.
