OUE C-REIT's NPI leapt 48.3% to $204.95m in 2019

The growth was mainly attributed to the company’s merger with OUE H-trust.

OUE Commercial REIT (OUE C-REIT) posted a 48.3% YoY net profit income (NPI) growth to $204.95m in 2019 from $138.19m in 2018. On a quarterly basis, NPI saw a staggering 92.6% YoY jump in Q4 to $70.58m from $36.64m over the same period in 2018.

The company’s revenues similarly saw an expansion for the year. Revenues grew 45.9% to $257.3m in 2019, from $176.4m in the previou year. For Q4, revenues stretched a massive 80.7% to $86.8m from $48m in Q4 2018.

The merger with OUE Hospitality trust (OUE H-trust) in September contributed to the NPI expansion in for the quarter. This was further augmented by the contribution from OUE Downtown Office which was acquired in November 2018.

The company’s amount available for distribution grew 74.9% to $124.7m, whilst Distribution per unit (DPU) for the year fell 4.9% to 3.31 cents. Meanwhile in Q4, the amount available for income more than doubled at 116.9% surge YoY to $46.6m translating to a DPU of 0.84 cents.

The surge is mainly attributable to higher NPI at OUE Downtown Office.

The commercial, comprising the office and retail portfolio reported a revenue and NPI growth of $62m, and $47.8m, respectively, for Q4 2019. For 2019, revenues and NPI were $225m, and $175.3m, respectively.

Occupancy was stable at 95.2%, whilst the Singapore office properties recorded an occupancy of 95.7% by 2019’s end.

The hospitality portfolio also saw a positive operational performance for the quarter with revenues recorded at $24.8m and NPI at $22.8m in Q4. For 2019, revenue was at $32.2m, whilst NPI for the year recorded at $29.6m, respectively.

RevPAR increased by 1.9% YoY to $216 on the back of higher demand, as the segment was supported by increased tourist arrivals and strong line-up of major events during the quarter. The increase was largely driven by higher room rates and increased demand at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport which registered a 9.9% YoY increase in RevPAR to $198 for the quarter.