[SINGAPORE] Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) on Tuesday (Apr 29) posted a 0.5 per cent increase in distribution per unit (DPU) for the first half ended Mar 31 to S$0.06054, from S$0.06022 in the same period a year before.
The DPU for H1 2025 will be paid on May 30, said the manager.
On Mar 25, the manager announced the proposed acquisition of a 100 per cent interest in Northpoint City South Wing, which was valued at close to S$1.2 billion. Additionally, through a private placement and preferential offering which was 24.8 per cent oversubscribed, FCT raised about S$421.3 million.
Around S$415.2 million or 98.6 per cent of the total gross proceeds of S$421.3 million was set to repay debts and fund the proposed acquisition of all units of North Gem Trust (NG Trust), said the manager. The remaining 1.4 per cent or S$6.1 million was allocated to pay other fees related to the fundraising exercise.
Revenue for H1 was up 7.1 per cent at S$184.4 million from S$172.2 million. Net property income (NPI) rose 7.3 per cent to S$133.7 million from S$124.6 million in the previous corresponding period.
Distributions to unitholders for the period rose 4.9 per cent on the year to S$110.1 million from S$104.9 million, mainly due to higher NPI, the full six-month contribution from the acquisition of an additional 24.5 per cent interest in Gold Ridge, and better performance by the Waterway Point and Nex malls. (Gold Ridge is the entity that owns and manages the NEX shopping mall in Serangoon Central.)
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The real estate investment trust’s (Reit) committed occupancy inched down slightly to 99.5 per cent from the previous quarter. FCT also recorded better rental reversions of 9 per cent, excluding that for Hougang Mall, which is undergoing asset enhancement initiative works.
Aggregate leverage stood at 38.6 per cent as at Mar 31. Cost of debt fell to 3.8 per cent this quarter from 4 per cent in the previous quarter.
Looking ahead, the manager said that healthy population growth from new home builds over the near to mid-term in the vicinity of its malls, coupled with rising household incomes and supportive government measures such as the Progressive Wage Model and disbursement schemes, will continue to drive tenant sales and hence, growth for FCT.
The manager expects interest rate movements and an increase in operating expenses to remain the key factors behind the Reit’s performance. Barring unforeseen circumstances, FCT’s average cost of borrowings are expected to stay below 4 per cent for H2 FY2025.
It will also continue to drive cost optimisation initiatives for its operations and adopt appropriate hedging strategies for energy contracts to mitigate the impact on its expenses on utilities.
Units of FCT closed unchanged on Monday at S$2.25.
