Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s (FCT) distribution per unit (DPU) for the second half ended September 2024 came in at S$0.0602, unchanged from a year prior.
This came even as revenue fell 2.5 per cent to S$179.5 million versus S$184.1 million in H2 FY2023, and net property income (NPI) dipped 0.6 per cent to S$128.8 million from S$129.6 million.
On Friday (Oct 25), FCT’s manager said the lower revenue and NPI for the half-year period was in the absence of contributions of Changi City Point, which was divested in October 2023.
Lower contributions from Tampines 1 while the mall underwent asset enhancement works (AEI) also weighed on the real estate investment trust’s (Reit) top line.
Excluding these two factors, revenue and NPI would have been 4.1 per cent and 4.7 per cent higher, respectively, for H2, said the manager.
It also noted higher rental income for the half-year period from renewed and new leases signed, as well as turnover rent, along with better income from increased utilisation of atrium leasing and car parks across the Reit’s mall assets.
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Distribution to unitholders grew 6.2 per cent to S$109.4 million versus S$103.1 million in H2 FY2023. Notably, distributions from investments were boosted 34.5 per cent to about S$28.5 million on the back of a full six-month contribution from FCT’s additional 24.5 per cent interest in Nex.
For the full year, FCT’s DPU stood at S$0.12042, down 0.9 per cent from its FY2023 DPU of S$0.1215.
Revenue was 4.9 per cent lower at S$351.7 million, and NPI fell 4.6 per cent to S$253.4 million.
The manager said that excluding the effects of Changi City Point’s divestment and AEI at Tampines 1, FY2024 revenue and NPI would have grown 3.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively.
As at end-September 2024, FCT’s aggregate leverage stood at 38.5 per cent – down 0.6 percentage point from 39.1 per cent as at end-June 2024.
The average cost of borrowing fell slightly to 4.1 per cent from 4.3 per cent in Q1 FY2024, while interest coverage ratio improved to 3.41 times from 3.26 times as at end-June 2024.
FCT’s manager also said that the portfolio’s aggregate appraised value grew 1.2 per cent year on year to S$7 billion due to higher appraised values of Tampines 1 upon completion of its AEI, as well as Nex on improved rents.
Richard Ng, chief executive of the manager, said: “Looking ahead, we anticipate another exciting year in FY2025, as we embark on the AEI at Hougang Mall and maintain our focus on the asset and property management of FCT’s portfolio.”
He added: “We remain optimistic about the outlook of the suburban retail sector in Singapore and believe that FCT is well-positioned to deliver stable growth and healthy performance in the future.”
Units of the Reit closed on Thursday S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent down at S$2.27.
