SINGAPORE (July 27): The manager of CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT) has announced a registered distributable income of $25.7 million for the period April 1 to June 30 (2Q18), an increase of 10% from $23.3 million a year ago.
The stronger performance was boosted by the first full-quarter contribution of Rock Square. Distribution per unit (DPU) for 2Q18 was 2.64 cents on an enlarged unit base, representing an increase of 0.8% from 2.62 cents in 2Q17, and 8.2% higher than 2Q17’s adjusted DPU of 2.44 cents following CRCT’s private placement exercise in December 2017.
For the period Jan 1 to June 30 (1H18), distributable income was $52.4 million, an increase of 9.8% compared to the same period last year. DPU edged up 0.6% from a year ago to 5.39 cents. On a comparable unit basis, DPU for 1H18 would have been 7.8% higher than 1H17’s adjusted DPU of 5 cents.
Based on an annualised DPU of 10.59 cents and CRCT’s closing price of $1.54 per unit on July 26, the annualised distribution yield for 2Q18 was 6.9%. Unitholders can expect to receive their DPU for 2Q18, along with DPU for 1Q18, on Sept 20.
Tan Tze Wooi, CEO of CapitaLand Retail China Trust Management Limited (CRCTML), says: “We are pleased that our portfolio reconstitution efforts and proactive asset management are showing positive results, delivering a double-digit growth for 2Q 2018’s distributable income. Rental reversions at our core multi-tenanted malls for the quarter averaged a healthy 10.5%, while portfolio occupancy as at 30 June 2018 was resilient at 97.4%.”
“Since acquiring Rock Square on 31 January 2018, we have focused on extracting the lease renewal upside while enhancing the mall’s tenant mix. This strategy led to strong rental reversions at Rock Square averaging above 20% for the second consecutive quarter. New entrants in the mall include a digital experience store by Xiaomi and popular beverage store Nayuki Tea. To optimise Rock Square’s layout and further expand its offerings, we created over 500 square metres of retail space by converting unutilised space and adding retail kiosks.”
Units in CRCT closed 2 cents higher at $1.54 on Thursday.
