SINGAPORE (July 26): The manager of Suntec REIT has announced a 4.6% drop in distribution per unit (DPU) to 2.361 cents for the 2Q19 ended June, from DPU of 2.474 cents a year ago.
Distributable income slipped 1.3% to $65.2 million, from $66.0 million a year ago.
2Q19 gross revenue fell 2.3% to $88.4 million, from $90.5 million a year ago, mainly due to lower convention revenue from Suntec Singapore.
Property expenses rose 7.5% to $32.0 million, from $29.8 million a year ago, mainly attributable to the sinking fund contribution for Suntec City Office upgrading works.
Consequently, net property income (NPI) fell 7.2% to $56.4 million, from $60.7 million a year ago.
Income contribution from joint ventures jumped 13.8% to $25.7 million, from $22.6 million a year ago.
This was mainly due to the stronger performance and additional 25.0% interest in Southgate Complex, as well as better performance of MBFC Properties.
As at end June, cash and cash equivalents stood at $301.2 million.
The overall committed occupancy for the office and retail portfolios stood at 99.1% and 97.9% respectively as at June 30, 2019.
Commenting on Suntec City’s retail performance, Chong Kee Hiong, CEO of the manager, says the key operation indicators “remained robust” with footfall and tenants’ sales growing 3.9% and 1.7% year-on-year respectively.
“To enhance unitholders’ value, we will continue to improve the underlying performance of our assets, source for accretive acquisitions and continue our prudent capital management strategy,” he adds.
Units in Suntec REIT closed flat at $1.95 on Thursday.
