CapitaLand Retail China Trust Q3 DPU up 1.7%

CAPITALAND Retail China Trust's (CRCT) distribution per unit (DPU) ticked up 1.7 per cent to 2.41 Singapore cents for the third quarter ended Sept 30 from 2.37 cents previously.

It posted a 10.5 per cent jump in distributable income to S$23.6 million, underpinned by growth from its Rock Square mall in Guangzhou and multi-tenanted malls.

The China-focused mall trust recorded a net property income of S$36.7 million, up 2.2 per cent from a year ago, driven by broad-based rental growth and effective cost management.

Gross revenue dipped slightly by 1.1 per cent to S$55.35 million, mainly due to CapitaMall Wuhu which was closed, following the exit of its anchor tenant and CapitaMall Grand Canyon's revenue impact arising from the restriction of trading activities at the atrium.

Based on the closing price of S$1.36 on Oct 30, the annualised distribution yield for the quarter was 7 per cent.

CRCT's portfolio occupancy as at Sept 30 stood at 97.7 per cent and rental reversion for the quarter was 12.1 per cent.

Tan Tze Wooi, CEO of CRCT's manager, noted that its active asset management strategy with a tailored approach for each mall is "progressing well".

For example, Rock Square registered a strong positive rental reversion above 20 per cent for the third consecutive quarter by bringing in 25 prominent international and domestic brands, many of which are new-to-market in Haizhu District, he said.

He also listed some tweaks made to other malls. To differentiate CapitaMall Qibao's offerings, CRCT increased its exposure to the resilient learning and education sector by more than three times over the last five years.

It also expanded the rooftop playground to host more interactive activities that are popular with children, further enhancing CapitaMall Qibao's attractiveness to young families.

To mitigate the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, as at Sept 30, CRCT has hedged approximately 80 per cent of its distributable income into Singapore dollars.

Mr Tan said: "CRCT's strong financial position will enable us to pursue acquisition opportunities to drive new growth while we continue with our active asset management strategy of extracting more value from existing properties."