CDL Hospitality Trusts net property income up 2.5% to S$36.4m

But RevPAR down 6% in 4Q13.

CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) reported its 4Q13 results, which were generally in-line with the street’s and OCBC Investment Research's expectations.

4Q13 revenue rose by 2.8% YoY to S$39.4m and net property income climbed 2.5% YoY to S$36.4m. 4Q13 DPU is 2.92 S cents (up 0.7% YoY), bringing FY13 DPU to 10.97 S cents.

RevPAR for CDLHT’s Singapore hotels in 4Q13 had declined 6.0% YoY, driven by a 4.0% drop in average room rate due to the increased room supply in the sector and weakness in corporate travel budgets, noted OCBC.

Meanwhile, average occupancy fell 1.9 ppt to 87.0%. CDLHT clocked average an RevPAR decline of 6.8% for its Singapore hotels in FY13. For the first 26 days of Jan 2014, RevPAR for CDLHT’s Singapore hotels declined by 0.3% YoY, in-line with our expectations for fairly flat RevPAR change for the industry in 2014.

As part of the major AEI announced in May 2013, tenants of Orchard Hotel Shopping Arcade have progressively left the mall in 4Q13. Refurbishment began in Dec 2013. Gross revenue contribution from the property thus declined S$0.4m.

Completing the AEI, OHSA will be renamed Claymore Link, which is envisioned as a family-friendly mall. Continued softness in the Australian dollar led to a smaller fixed rent contribution by the Australian hotels in 4Q13.