CapitaLand Mall Trust NPI rose 4.7% to $125.65m in Q1

High occupancy in IMM, Clarke Quay, and two other properties boosted revenue and income.

It was a good first quarter for CapitaLand Mall Trust as its net property income (NPI) rose 4.7% YoY from $120.06m to $125.65m. According to its financial statement, gross revenue also went up 1.8% YoY to $175.2m.

Higher occupancy in IMM, Clarke Quay, The Atrium@Orchard, and Plaza Singapura, as well as higher car park income, boosted gross revenue.

Meanwhile, property operating expenses fell 4.7% to $49.5m, mainly due to lower marketing and utilities expenses. Management fees dipped 1% to $11m, whilst finance costs slipped 5.2% to $24.4m.

“This was mainly due to the refinancing of medium term notes (MTNs) of $100m and $150m in 2017 with proceeds from the divestment of Victory SR Trust (VSRT) and MTN issuances at lower interest rates as well as repayment of the bank borrowings in January 2018. In addition, the decrease was due to the refinancing of EMTN of US$400m in March 2018 at lower interest rates through loan drawdowns in March 2018,” CMT said.

CMT declared a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.78 cents for the quarter. Going forward, the company said it “will continue to focus on sustaining DPU.”