Despite the gradual easing of restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Frasers Property Limited’s group CEO Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi says “significant and negative impact on the group’s business performance and earnings will be inevitable”.
In the group’s business update for 3Q20, Sirivadhanabhakdi added that impact on valuations at the end of the FY is a “possibility”.
Frasers Property commands a large base of investment property portfolio that spans across asset classes, geographies, and customer base.
In February, the group acquired property manager AsiaMalls Management, which oversees a portfolio of malls such as Century Square and Tiong Bahru Plaza.
The properties under AsiaMalls Management are held by PGIM ARF, which the group fully acquired on July 6.
Frasers Property Industrial also saw a robust 508,000 sqm of renewals and new leases, as well as 13 hectares of land bank additions across Australia and Europe. The unit also acquired an industrial estate in Germany in April comprising two pre-leased assets of some 66,000 sqm.
The group has been actively managing its capital position by raising some $143 million for FPT via a rights offering that was completed on July 9.
The group has also continued to recycle capital through its REITs. It completed the divestment of two properties for $94.6 million to FLCT in 1Q20, and the remaining 50% interest in Farnborough Business Park for $157.7 million in 2Q20.
As at end June, net debt for the group increased to $17.02 billion, up 23.2% from the $13.82 billion as at Sep 30, 2019.
The group also logged cash and deposits of $3.9 billion and net debt-to-equity ratio of 112.9% as at end June.
In Singapore, Frasers Property registered a committed occupancy rate of 93.8% and 86.7% average occupancy rate (AOR) in its retail portfolio for the 9M20 ended June.
In Australia, the group achieved a 95% portfolio occupancy with a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 5.6 years.
Its industrial and logistics investment portfolio saw 99% occupancy rates in Australia and Europe, while its occupancies under its hospitality portfolio decreased by 36.8 percentage points y-o-y to 46.7%.
Average daily rate (ADR) for its hospitality portfolio fell 8.4% y-o-y to $128.80.
Shares in Frasers Property closed 2 cents higher, or 1.7% up, at $1.18 on Aug 7.
