CapitaLand Malaysia Trust posts RM33.2m NPI for Q4 2021

The NPI was marginally lower than the previous year.

CapitaLand Malaysia Trust (CLMT) announced a net property income (NPI) of $10.69m (RM33.2m) for the period 1 October to 31 December 2021 (Q4 2021), marginally lower than the NPI of $10.95m (RM34m) for the corresponding period of the previous year.

Distributable income was RM17.7m ($5.7m), and distribution per unit (DPU) was 0.83 sen.

For the financial year ended 31 December 2021 (FY21), CLMT registered an NPI of $33.21m (RM103.1m), 22.7% lower compared to FY20. This was mainly due to lower gross revenue, which was impacted by lower occupancy and negative rental reversions. DPU for FY21 was 1.84 sen, 38.7% lower than the DPU of 3.00 sen for FY 2020. The Distribution Reinvestment Plan will be applied to the final income distribution of 0.98 sen per unit from 1 July to 31 December 2021. Details on the issue price, entitlement, and payment dates will be announced in due course.

CLMT Manager CEO Tan Choon Siang added, "From 3Q21 to 4Q21, CLMT's retail operating metrics showed encouraging signs of recovery. Quarter-on-quarter, shopper traffic and tenant sales per square foot in 4Q21 grew 161% and 115%, respectively.

Portfolio occupancy remained stable at 82.5% as of 31 December 2021. There were more than 20 tenants, taking up about 43,000 square feet of net lettable area, which opened in 4Q21."

Chairman Lui Chong Chee said, "CLMT's FY21 performance reflected the challenges that continued to afflict Malaysia's retail sector during the second year of COVID-19. Whilst there were promising signs of a retail recovery in Q4 2021, the recent emergence of new virus variants has cast a shadow over the economic recovery. On a more positive note, there has been steady progress in the government's mitigation strategies to contain the pandemic, with almost 98% of Malaysia's total adult population fully vaccinated."

(RM1 = S$0.32)