The manager of Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) has reported distribution per unit (DPU of 4.17 cents for 1HFY2020/2021 ended September, 9.9% down from the 4.63 cents posted a year ago.
See also: Mapletree Commercial Trust reports 10.5% y-o-y decline in gross revenue in 1Q20/21 business update
Distributable income to unitholders for the half-year period increased 3.2% y-o-y to $138.4 million, which includes some $15.0 million of the $43.7 million withheld in 4QFY2019/2020 to conserve liquidity.
Without the $15.0 million, distributable income for the same period stood 7.9% y-o-y lower at $123.4 million.
Gross revenue for 1HFY2020/2021 fell 2.5% y-o-y to $218.7 million mainly due to rental rebates granted to eligible tenants affected by Covid-19.
Singapore’s circuit breaker from April 7 to June 18 also affected takings for the Trust.
The decline was partially mitigated by the first-time contribution from MBC II from its acquisition since Nov 1, 2019.
Revenue in MCT’s VivoCity in particular, fell 40.5% y-o-y to $64.8 million mainly attributable to rental rebates, as well as lower turnover rent and carpark income.
See also: MCT kept at ‘buy’ on strong performance from Vivocity and MBC acquisitions
The mall’s advertising and promotion income also suffered as atrium events were not allowed due to safe distancing measures.
Gross revenue from MCT’s office and business park assets grew 33.4% and 33.8% y-o-y respectively mostly driven by first-time contribution from MBC II and higher contribution from Mapletree Anson due to higher occupancy.
Property operating expenses for the half-year were 1.8% lower y-o-y at $47.2 million due to lower expenses for property maintenance, utilities, marketing and promotion, property tax and property management fees.
Consequently, net property income (NPI) fell 2.6% y-o-y to $171.5 million.
As at Sept 30, the committed occupancy of MCT’s portfolio stood at 97.7% with a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 2.5 years.
Sharon Lim, CEO of the manager says the trust continues to see the progressive recovery of shopper traffic since the Phase Two re-opening since June 19.
“We continue to see encouraging resumption of shopper activities since Phase Two lifting of the circuit breaker from 19 June 2020 whereby the rebound in tenant sales has outpaced shopper traffic. While tenants have resumed operations, various health protocols including border closures, work-from-home directives and safe distancing measures remain in place,” Lim says.
“We believe that there is room for further improvement in tenant sales and shopper traffic once these restrictions are lifted,” she adds.
As at Sept 30, cash and cash equivalents stood at $132.4 million.
“Anchored by a well-diversified portfolio, MCT will continue to derive stable cashflows from high quality tenants. In particular, the newly acquired MBC II, together with MBC I, will provide stability and support in such uncertain times. MCT’s resilience keeps us well-placed to ride through the pandemic and catch the eventual inflection point,” Lim concludes.
Unitholders can expect to receive their distributions on Nov 27.
Units in MCT closed 1 cent higher or 0.5% up at $1.91 on Oct 22.
