FCT H2 DPU falls 26.1% to 4.372 S cents on Covid-19 rental relief for tenants

FRASERS Centrepoint Trust (FCT)'s distribution per unit (DPU) fell 26.1 per cent to 4.372 Singapore cents for its half year ended Sept 30, from 5.913 cents a year ago.

Gross revenue was down 33.8 per cent to S$64.5 million for the period April 1 to Sept 30, from S$97.4 million in the year-ago period.

This was mainly due to rental rebates provided to tenants amid the Covid-19 pandemic. These amounted to about S$27.4 million, FCT's manager said on Tuesday.

Net property income (NPI) fell 42.8 per cent on the year to S$38.6 million for the half-year period, from S$67.5 million.

Income available for distribution tumbled 51.6 per cent to S$30.1 million, from S$62.2 million a year earlier.

The distribution is expected to be paid out on Dec 4, following books closure on Oct 6.

Meanwhile, for the full year ended Sept 30, DPU was lower at 9.042 Singapore cents, versus 12.07 cents a year ago, and income available for distribution fell 14.8 per cent to S$101.2 million.

Gross revenue dropped 16.3 per cent to S$164.4 million, while NPI was down 20.4 per cent to S$110.9 million for the full year from Oct 1, 2019 to Sept 30, 2020.

FCT units closed at S$2.08 on Monday, down S$0.03 or 1.4 per cent.