SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT), landlord of nine suburban shopping malls in Singapore, saw a 39.3 per cent surge in second-half distribution per unit (DPU).
DPU for the six months to September rose to 6.089 cents from 4.372 cents for the same period last year, the Reit announced on Wednesday morning (Oct 27).
Gross revenue was up 159.9 per cent to $167.5 million for the half-year period, from $64.5 million in the previous year.
The improved full-year financial performance is attributed to the acquisition of its remaining 63.1 per cent stake in AsiaRetail Fund and lower rental rebates granted to tenants this year, FCT’s manager said in a bourse filing on Wednesday (Oct 27).
Net property income (NPI) grew 213.2 per cent on year to $120.9 million for the half year, from $38.6 million.
Distributable income rose 243.9 per cent on year to $103.6 million, from $30.1 million.
The distribution will be paid out on Nov 29 after books closure on Nov 5 at 5 pm.
Meanwhile, for the full year ended September, DPU was higher at 12.085 cents, versus 9.042 cents a year ago, and distributable income grew 102.4 per cent to $204.7 million.
Gross revenue was 107.5 per cent higher at $341.2 million, while NPI rose 122.4 per cent to $246.6 million for FY2021.
Richard Ng, chief executive officer of FCT’s manager, noted that it “had been another challenging year” due to the pandemic, which has weighed on some tenant’s businesses and shopper traffic.
He said: “In this challenging time, we see omnichannel retailing as a viable way to help cushion the impact on our tenants and to generate additional sales.”
“Going forward, we believe there is resilient demand for retail spaces within well-located and dominant suburban retail malls as the economy reopens,” he added.
Units of FCT were trading up three cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $2.36 at 9.27am on Wednesday.