CapitaLand Mall Trust's Q2 DPU up despite lower property income

SHOPPING-MALL owner CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) has raised its distribution per unit (DPU) for the second quarter of this year despite lower net property income.

DPU for the three months to June 30 was 2.71 Singapore cents, 0.7 per cent higher than the 2.69 Singapore cents in Q2 2014.

This was even though the amount available for distribution to unitholders in the quarter slid 2.7 per cent to S$94.04 million.

Gross revenue also fell 2.9 per cent to S$159.6 million and net property income tumbled 4 per cent to S$109.5 million.

The trust manager's chief executive, Wilson Tan, said in a statement on Wednesday that CMT's portfolio occupancy as at June 30 remained at 96.4 per cent despite ongoing refurbishment initiatives and reconfiguration work at some of its malls.

For instance, Clarke Quay has been undergoing reconfiguration works for about 57,000 square feet of space while Plaza Singapura will get interior renovation in the third quarter this year, he said.

Unitholders can expect to receive their Q2 DPU on Aug 28.

CMT units closed three cents up at S$2.18 on Tuesday.