SINGAPORE (Jan 30): Frasers Hospitality Trust has recorded distribution per stapled security (DPS) of 1.2542 cents for the 1Q19 ended December, 4.3% lower than DPS of 1.3107 cents a year ago.
Income available for distribution fell 3.0% to $23.7 million in 1Q19, from $24.4 million a year ago.
This was mainly due to lower gross revenue in 1Q19, which fell 2.0% to $40.6 million, compared to $41.5 million a year ago.
The decline was mainly due to weaker performance of the Malaysia and Japan portfolios, with both The Westin Kuala Lumpur and ANA Crowne Plaza Kobe turning in lower room and food and beverage (F&B) revenue for the quarter.
This was partially mitigated by better performance from FHT’s Australia and UK portfolios. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) of these portfolios improved on the back of higher average daily rate (ADR) and occupancy.
Property operating expenses were 4.4% lower at $9.6 million for 1Q19, compared to $10.0 million a year ago.
Consequently, net property income (NPI) fell 1.2% to $31.1 million in 1Q19, from $31.4 million a year ago.
FHT’s total borrowings stood at $852.4 million as at Dec 31, 2018, with gearing at 34.4%.
As at end December, cash and cash equivalents stood at $75.4 million.
“Moving ahead, we remain focused on creating value for our stapled securityholders. We will continue to proactively pursue opportunities to optimise our portfolio, which may include portfolio rebalancing. We will also continue to work closely with our operators to drive revenue growth,” says Eu Chin Fen, chief executive officer of the managers.
Units of Frasers Hospitality Trust closed flat at 72.5 cents on Wednesday.
