SINGAPORE (April 21): The manager of Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) has announced a 2Q17 distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.51 cents, 2.4% higher than the 2.45 cents posted a year ago.
This will be paid out on May 30.
Gross revenue for quarter grew 3.2% to $40.2 million from $39 million in 2Q16, while net property income (NPI) saw a 4.1% rise on the same basis to $30 million.
These positive performances were underpinned by overall stronger results from FCOT’s Australian portfolio coupled with the stronger Australian dollar, despite being partially offset by the effects of lower occupancy rates at China Square Central and Alexandra Technopark.
As such, distributable income for the quarter rose 3.5% to $20 million as compared to $19.3 million in the previous year.
As at March 31, overall portfolio committed occupancy rate was 91.8%, with the Singapore portfolio’s rate at 89% and the Australia portfolio at 95.3%, underpinned by continued full occupancies at Caroline Chisolm Centre and 357 Collins Street.
Recognising that major lease expiries include that of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Singapore (HPE) in FY17 and the leases of HPE and Hewlett-Packard Singapore (HPS) in FY18, the manager says it continues to be proactive in its leasing initiatives and in managing these lease expiries.
“We are pleased to deliver another healthy set of results and stable DPU performance notwithstanding continued challenges and uncertainties in the market environment,” comments Jack Lam, CEO of the manager.
“We are excited by the commencement of the asset enhancement works at Alexandra Technopark, which are aimed at providing our tenants with a vibrant, green, enriching and well-balanced environment. These improvements will at the same time greatly boost the marketability and long-term competitiveness of the property for the benefit of FCOT,” he adds.
Units of FCOT closed 1 cent lower at $1.32 on Thursday.
