CICT's NPI up 36.4% to $191.9m in Q4 2020

Contribution from CCT’s assets following their merger drove CICT's rise in income.

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) ended its fiscal year in a high note with its net property income (NPI) rising 36.4% YoY to $191.9m for the quarter ending 31 December 2020, according to a press release.

The contribution from CapitaLand Commercial Trust’s (CCT) assets drove the rise in income. CICT and CCT merged on 21 October 2020, with CICT acquiring CCT’s units via a trust scheme of arrangement. Notably, Raffles City Singapore has become a direct wholly owned subsidiary of CICT after the merger, instead of a joint venture.

Distributable income hit $145.4m for the quarter, 26.8% YoY higher than the same period a year earlier.

Meanwhile, distribution per unit (DPU) is 0.89 cents for the period between 1 to 20 October 2020, which was paid to CapitaLand Mall Trust unitholders on 19 November 2020.

For the period between 21 October and 31 December 2020, the DPU is 1.74 cents. Record date of the latter DPU is on Friday, 29 January 2021, and unitholder will be paid on 9 March 2021. This will be CICT’s last quarterly distribution as the trust will be paying distribution on a semi-annual basis from financial year 2021.

CICT chairman Teo Swee Lian noted in the results announcement that Singapore’s commercial real estate sector was significantly impacted by COVID-19 in 2020.

“As the leader in Singapore’s commercial real estate, we overcame the challenges with our tenants by providing substantial rental relief and helping our retailers to transform their business models and adopt omnichannel strategies,” she said, adding that CICT’s enlarged  portfolio post-merger will further strengthen its competitive advantage as it seeks out new opportunities for growth.