PARAGON Reit : SK6U 0% reported on Monday (May 8) a 0.6 per cent year-on-year increase in first-quarter gross revenue for its portfolio on the back of higher revenue both in Singapore and Australia.

In a business update filed on the Singapore Exchange, the real estate investment trust’s manager said that portfolio gross revenue had increased to S$72 million for the three months ended Mar 31, 2023, from S$71.6 million in the year-ago period.

In local currency terms, Singapore assets gross revenue grew 0.7 per cent on year, while Australia assets gross revenue rose 8.1 per cent year on year, the manager said. However, the Australian dollar had a weaker exchange rate against the Singapore dollar in Q1 FY23 compared to a year earlier.

For its Singapore properties – which includes Paragon, The Clementi Mall and The Rail Mall – tenant sales rose 12 per cent on year in the first quarter, while footfall was up 37 per cent on year.

This was mainly due to pandemic restrictions that were still in place during the prior year period.

Similarly in Australia, tenant sales and footfall rose 21 per cent and 6 per cent on year respectively during the first quarter as pandemic restrictions eased.

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The manager noted that there was “near full occupancy” across its portfolio, and a weighted average lease expiry of 5.3 years by net lettable area.

Paragon Reit rose 0.5 per cent to close at S$0.95 on Monday, before the business update.