[SINGAPORE] Far East Hospitality Trust’s (FEHT) net property income fell 8.3 per cent year on year to S$23 million for the first quarter ended March, from S$25.1 million.
Gross revenue for Q1 FY2025 decreased 6.8 per cent to S$25.2 million from S$27.1 million. The fall was mainly due to lower master lease revenue from the hotels and serviced residences segments, arising from the absence of major events compared with the same period last year, said its managers on Wednesday (Apr 30).
For the hotels segment, revenue tumbled 9.2 per cent to S$18.2 million; revenue for the serviced residences segment fell 8.8 per cent to S$2.4 million.
However, the stapled group posted stronger performance from the commercial premises segment, where revenue rose 4.9 per cent to S$4.6 million.
Weighted average cost of debt was at 3.5 per cent as at Mar 31, down from 4.1 per cent for FY2024, and aggregate leverage stood at 31.2 per cent.
In addition, FEHT recorded 57.4 per cent of borrowings on fixed rates. “A 25 basis point increase or decrease in interest rates on variable rate debt is expected to have an impact of S$800,000 on distribution or about S$0.0004 on distribution per stapled security, based on FY2024’s taxable distribution,” said the managers a Q1 business update.
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Some S$9.7 million of the S$18 million incentive fee received from the divestment of Central Square in March 2023 remains available to cushion any potential increase in interest expenses, they added.
Average occupancy for FEHT’s hotels inched down by 1.4 percentage points for Q1 FY2025 to 79 per cent compared with the same year-ago period.
The managers on Feb 20 announced that the stapled security group had entered into a sale and purchase agreement with an unrelated third party to acquire Four Points by Sheraton Nagoya, a freehold, 319-room hotel operated by Marriott International. This is FEHT’s first overseas acquisition in Japan.
FEHT purchased the property at an initial price of six billion yen (S$52.8 million), and the deal was completed on Apr 25. It also acquired a Japanese joint-stock company, which will be the master lessee of the asset, for around 50 million yen.
Citing recent and upcoming tourism developments, and data that points to a further recovery in tourism amid an uncertain macroeconomic environment, the managers said their outlook in these respects was “positive”.
Stapled securities of FEHT ended Tuesday up S$0.005 or 0.9 per cent at S$0.555.
