Frasers Centrepoint Trust NPI grew 4.8% to $36.44m in Q2

The 24.6% NPI growth at Changi City Point drove up earnings.

Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) saw its net property income (NPI) edge up 4.8% YoY to $36.44m in Q2 from $34.79m in 2018, an announcement revealed. Revenue also rose 2.3% YoY from $48.61m to $49.73m.

The improvement in earnings was led by Changi City Point, which registered a 24.6% YoY increase in its NPI and said to be the highest amongst all the properties in FCT’s portfolio. Its other malls also registered NPI growth between 1.4-8.9%, with the exception of Bedok Point’s NPI which remained unchanged.

FCT’s distribution to unitholders also inched up 1.6% YoY to $29.16m in Q2 from $28.71m in 2018, whilst distribution per unit (DPU) was up 1.2% YoY to a record-high $0.0313 from $0.031.

During the quarter, 38 leases accounting for 3.7% of FCT’s total net lettable area (NLA) were renewed at an average rental reversion of 2%, according to its financial statement. Portfolio occupancy as at 31 March was 96%, which is higher than the 94% recorded in Q2 2018.

Q2 also saw portfolio shopper traffic up 2.4% YoY, with all malls except for Bedok Point seeing higher footfall. That said, portfolio tenants’ sales dipped 1.3% YoY due to the transitional vacancies at Causeway Point, as well as the temporary closure of one of its food courts for renovation.

Also read: New developments could bolster mall traffic for Frasers Centrepoint Trust

According to Chew Tuan Chiong, CEO of Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management (FCAM), the firm will continue to focus on improving the financial performance of FCT, as well as on acquisition strategies to drive further growth.

On 4 April, FCT completed the acquisition of a 17.13% stake in PGIM Real Estate Fund AsiaRetail Fund for approximately $342.5m. A proposed acquisition of a further 1.67% stake in PGIM Real Estate AsiaRetail Fund was announced on 21 March for $33.5m is pending completion.

Unitholders are said to receive their Q2 2019 DPU on 30 May.

Photo from Frasers Centreoint Trust.