Starhill Global REIT NPI down 2.3% to $40.44m in Q1

It was hit by lower contributions from its Singapore retail portfolio.

Starhill Global REIT (SGREIT) saw its net property income dip 2.3% YoY to $40.44m, according to its Q1 FY2019 financial report. Gross revenue rose 1.8% YoY to $52.02m.

Income available for distribution for the quarter decreased 1.9% YoY to $26.2m whilst. distribution per unit (DPU) slipped 4.2% YoY to $0.115 amidst lower NPI and higher retained income.

According to SGREIT, the higher contributions YoY from Singapore office and Plaza Arcade following the completion of its asset redevelopment paired with the appreciation of MYR were offset by lower contributions from the retail portfolio in Singapore and the depreciation of the Australian dollar. They also noted that anchor tenant UNIQLO opened its first store in Perth at Plaza Arcade on 30 August 2018 to strong shopper turnout.

“Whilst the market requires time to digest the current oversupply of retail space, we sustained healthy committed occupancy of 99.7% for Singapore retail portfolio as at 30 September 2018,” YTL Starhill Global CEO Ho Sing said.

Meanwhile, the firm’s Singapore office portfolio is on tract recovery with combined revenue and NPI jumping 9.2% and 9.7% for the quarter. Committed occupancy bounced back to 95.3% from 83.5% in September 2017 whilst actual office occupancy rose to 92.9% from 90.3% in June 2018.