SINGAPORE (July 26): The manager of Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) announced that its DPU for 1Q19/20 ended June has increased by 3.6% to 2.31 cents, compared to 2.23 cents in 1Q18/19.
This came on the back of a 4.1% increase in income available for distribution to $67.2 million from $64.6 million last year.
Revenue for the period saw a 3.3% increase to $112.1 million from $108.5 million a year ago, with all of the trust’s properties contributing higher revenue, except Mapletree Anson.
VivoCity saw revenue increase by $2.6 million from 1Q18/19 driven mainly by higher rental income from new and renewed leases, achieved together with the asset enhancement initiatives completed in FY18/19 and the effects of the step-up rents in existing leases.
Revenue for MBC I was higher by $1.2 million mainly due to higher rental income from new leases and the effects of the step-up rents in existing leases.
Revenue for MLHF and PSA Building was $0.1 million each higher than 1Q18/19 mainly due to higher rental income.
Mapletree Anson however saw a $0.5 million decrease in revenue compared to the previous year, mainly due to compensation sums received in 1Q18/19. This was partially offset by higher rental income from higher occupancy in 1Q19/20 and the effects of the step-up rents in existing leases.
With property operating expenses also increasing by 5.2% y-o-y to $23.8 million, net property income came in at $88.3 million, 2.8% higher than $85.9 million in the previous year.
During the quarter, the trust saw a significant increase in its net change in fair value of financial derivative to $3.1 million from just $0.2 million last year.
Foreign exchange loss also increased significantly to $2.9 million from a loss of $0.1 million in the corresponding period.
For the 1Q19/20 period, the trust’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $41.0 million.
Sharon Lim, CEO of the manager says, “VivoCity achieved a 5.2% and 4.2% growth in gross revenue and NPI for 1Q19/20 in spite of the transitory downtime on shopper traffic and tenant sales resulting from the changeover of anchor space. Momentum in shopper traffic and tenant sales is expected to pick up after the changeover is complete and we remain confident about VivoCity’s outlook and future performance.”
The manager believes that MCT’s portfolio will remain resilient, given VivoCity’s strong positioning and consistent performance, as well as the manageable lease expiries in MCT’s office/business park properties.
Units in MCT last traded at $2.10 on Thursday.
