The manager of Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) has reported gross revenue of $100.7 million for the 3QFY2020/2021 ended December, 49.7% higher than gross revenue of $67.3 million in 3QFY20219/2020.
The higher figure was mainly attributable to the lower base in the year before, where there was no rental collection in 3QFY2019/2020 during the temporary closure of Festival Walk mall from Nov 13, 2019 to Jan 15, 2020, and its office tower from Nov 13 to 25, 2019.
Net property income (NPI) for the quarter stood 49% higher y-o-y to $75.7 million.
SEE: Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust sees 1H DPU drop 26% to 2.876 cents
Revenue and NPI for the 3QFY2020/2021 were higher from MNACT’s properties in Japan due to the contributions from MBP and Omori that were acquired on Feb 28, 2020.
Year-to-date (y-t-d) gross revenue was up 4.7% y-o-y to $290.8 million while y-t-d NPI fell 2.3% y-o-y to $215.4 million.
The lower NPI was due to higher rental reliefs granted to tenants at Festival Walk mall.
Average rental rates at Festival Walk mall and Gateway Plaza were also lower y-t-d FY2020/2021, and mitigated by the full nine months of contributions from MBP and Omori.
MNACT’s committed occupancy level as at Dec 31, 2020, stood at 96.9%. Its weighted average lease expiry (WALE) stood at 2.4 years by gross rental income (GRI).
MNACT will be making distributions on a half-yearly basis with effect from the start of FY2020/2021. The next announcement and distribution will be for the six-month period ending March 31.
The REIT says it sees green shoots of economic recovery in 2021, but new waves of Covid-19 and uncertainties surrounding vaccination rates may pose risks to the pace of recovery.
For more stories about where the money flows, click here for our Capital section
“While progress with vaccines have fueled optimism of a global economic recovery, uncertainties stemming from the COVID-19 situation remain. In Hong Kong SAR, following a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the city in mid-November 2020, tighter social distancing measures were re-imposed and extended till Feb 3, subject to further review. We expect these measures to continue to impact the retail market,” says Cindy Chow, CEO of the manager.
“In view of the effects of the Covid-19 on the global economy and our operating environment, MNACT’s performance in FY2020/2021 is expected to be lower than that in FY2019/2020. We will continue to support our tenants, maintain high occupancy and adopt our disciplined approach of active asset management and diversification through acquiring accretive assets in North Asia,” Chow adds.
Units in MNACT closed 1.5 cents lower or 1.5% down at 97.5 cents on Jan 28.
