OUE Commercial REIT has reported a distribution per unit of 1.08 cents for 1HFY2022 ended June, down 12.2% y-o-y.
The distribution will go ex on Aug 1 and be paid to unitholders on Sept 6.
Net property income was $93.6 million, down 14.2% y-o-y, due to the deconsolidation of a 50% interest in one of its properties, OUE Bayfront, in March. On the other hand, the REIT incurred lower costs from lower rental rebates.
Revenue in the same period was $115.8 million, down 13.3% y-o-y.
Besides commercial assets such as OUE Bayfront, the REIT owns hospitality assets as well, such as the Hilton Singapore Orchard.
Compared to before the property’s re-branding to Hilton’s flagship hotel in Singapore, the RevPAR had increased 33.6% from $226 in 4Q 2019 – the quarter before the pandemic started.
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Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, which started to receive corporate and leisure bookings in 2Q 2022, registered a 12.2% q-o-q increase in RevPAR to S$142.
With a strong pipeline of events, the growth momentum of tourist arrivals, and longer stays for business and corporate travellers are expected to sustain into the second half of 2022, the REIT says its hotel assets are well-positioned to benefit from Singapore’s reopening.
However, the REIT’s businesses in Shanghai remains affected because of the lockdown.
“Given the fluidity of the pandemic situation in Shanghai, we will continue to monitor our operations closely and adapt our business strategies accordingly,” says Han Khim Siew, CEO of the REIT’s manager.
“OUE C-REIT’s high-quality assets in prime strategic locations as well as the wide and diversified tenant base, will continue to underpin the resilience of the portfolio,” he adds.
For 1H 2022, the REIT’s commercial (office and retail) segment reported lower revenue and net property income of $82.1 million, down 17.7% y-o-y and $62.1 million, down 20.9% y-oy, respectively.
As at June 30, the REIT’s Singapore office properties committed occupancy increased 2.1 percentage points to 92.9% over the preceding quarter.
The manager attributes the improvement to better office leasing momentum, and “supported by the manager’s focus on prioritising occupancy”.
The REIT manage expects better business confidence with a recovery in consumption and tourist arrivals.
OUE C-REIT closed July 25 at 39 cents, unchanged for the day and down 11.36% year to date.
