SPH REIT’s net property income rises by 5.8% to $40.1m

Smarter expense management did the trick.

The property firm’s properties seemed to bend with the headwinds, as both of SPH REIT’s properties continued to exhibit resilience with their positive rental reversions.

According to a statement by SPH REIT, Paragon’s occupancy was 99.8% by the end of November last year. It added that the marginal dip from full occupancy was due to timing of amalgamation of space to create a contiguous unit.

“The relatively moderate rental uplift at Paragon of 3.2% for new or renewed leases in 1Q 2016, was mainly due to the prevailing weak retail sentiment,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the company’s Clementi Mall remained fully leased, with a positive rental reversion of 5.4% for renewal during the quarter.

“Paragon continued to see healthy leasing demand and welcomed several international retailers such as Loewe, Ralph Lauren Children, Lalique, and APM Monaco to the mall. Emporio Armani has also pre-committed to take up part of the reconfigured space at level one from the Air Handling Unit (AHU) decanting project,” the statement added.

DPU for SPH REIT for 1Q16 was also maintained at 1.33 cents, same as 1Q15, the statement said.