Starhill Global REIT falls 8.5% to 1.18 cents for Q4

Wisma Atria Retail and office properties performed poorly for the quarter.

Starhill Global REIT (SGREIT) failed to deliver after its distribution per unit (DPU) dropped 8.5% to 1.18 cents for Q4.

According to OCBC Investment Research, the drop in DPU can be attributed to straight-lining rent adjustments, higher withholding taxes in Malaysian properties, and lower payout ratio of 97.5% YoY.

Meanwhile, SGREIT's gross revenue and net property income (NPI) were flat at $53.7m and $41.4m.

OCBC analysts Andy Wong Teck Ching and Eli Lee said, "Positive contributions from master leases were offset by weaker performance from Wisma Atria Retail and its Singapore office portfolio, while there was also disruption from asset redevelopment works."

SGREIT's portfolio occupancy rose to 95.5% QoQ. Shopper traffic for its property Wisma Atria Retail fell 3.8% but came through with stable tenant sales.