PCRT paying one-off Q3 DPU of 0.95 cent

Singapore

PERENNIAL China Retail Trust (PCRT) on Tuesday declared a one-off interim distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.95 Singapore cent for its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2014, instead of the semi-annual payments it usually makes for six-month periods ending June and December.

The trust, Singapore's first pure-play Chinese retail development trust, said this was done in view of the voluntary conditional general offer for PCRT announced last week by its sponsor Perennial Real Estate Holdings Ltd (PREHL), known formerly known as St James Holdings before its reverse takeover.

The payout on Dec 3, 2014, is to minimise unitholders' uncertainty while the corporate exercise is going on, it said. The book closure date is on Nov 12, 2014.

The DPU is unchanged from the distributable DPU for Q3 a year ago, on the back of a steady distributable amount of S$10.9 million.

Like past quarters, it will be drawn down from an earn-out deed - an "insurance amount" provided for by the seller of Perennial Dongzhan Mall, which is currently under construction. The trust is allowed to draw down from this deed to pay distributions if it fails to meet a certain performance benchmark. "PCRT has a remaining earn-out amount of RMB77.9 million (S$15.5 million) available to support distribution for the period from Oct 1, 2014 to Dec 31, 2014. PCRT's final earn-out arrangement will end on Dec 31, 2014," it said.

The trust also reported a 13.2 per cent increase in net profit to S$7.3 million, thanks to revenue from Perennial Jihua Mall, Foshan, and Perennial Qingyang Mall, Chengdu, which began operating in August 2013 and April 2014 respectively. Higher net property income from Shenyang Longemont Shopping Mall and Shenyang Longemont Offices also helped.

Its Q3 revenue from wholly owned assets more than tripled to S$5.2 million, comprising rentals generated by Perennial Jihua Mall and Perennial Qingyang Mall.

The trust closed trading one cent lower at S$0.535 on Tuesday.