BHG Retail Reit posts 53.9% drop in H1 DPU to S$0.0035
Yong Jun Yuan
THE Manager of China-focused BHG Retail Reit on Tuesday (Aug 8) announced a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.0035 for the first half ended June 2023, down 53.9 per cent from a DPU of S$0.0076 in the year-ago period.
Distributable income for the first half of the year stood at S$1.8 million, 53.7 per cent lower than the S$3.9 million it posted a year earlier.
About S$0.2 million of the amount available for distribution has been retained for operating expenses and working capital requirements of the real estate investment trust (Reit), the manager said.
In a bourse filing, the Reit’s manager said that distributable income was impacted mainly by the weakening of the Chinese yuan against the Singdollar, as well as higher interest expenses.
Gross revenue fell 12.7 per cent to S$31.1 million, while net property income fell 15 per cent to S$17.9 million.
Chief executive of the Reit’s manager Chan Iz-Lynn said that the portfolio occupancy rate stood at 95.8 per cent, with a weighted average lease expiry of 3.3 years by gross rental income, and 5.3 years by net lettable area.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
She said: “With the government’s commitment to step up policy support for the economy, focusing on boosting domestic demand and boosting confidence, we remain optimistic on China’s post-Covid economic recovery, and believe that our quality portfolio of retail malls in high-population-density neighbourhoods are well-positioned to capitalise on its recovery.”
As at Jun 30, the Reit’s gearing ratio stood at 39.3 per cent, with about 50 per cent of its offshore debt hedged from a floating to a fixed interest rate via interest-rate swap instruments.
The DPU of S$0.0035 will be paid out to unitholders on Sep 28, 2023.
Units of BHG ended Tuesday flat at S$0.50, before the results were released.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
