LMIR Trust posts 12.5% increase in Q1 DPU to S$0.0009

THE manager of Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIR Trust) : D5IU 0%on Friday (Apr 29) reported distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.0009 for the first quarter ended March, up 12.5 per cent from DPU of S$0.0008 in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

This was largely attributable to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in Indonesia, which led to reduced rental or service charge discounts to tenants.

The year-on-year improvement was also bolstered by full quarter contribution from Lippo Mall Puri, which was acquired near the end of January 2021.

Distribution to unitholders rose 12.8 per cent to S$6.9 million for the quarter, from S$6.1 million in the year-ago period.

The Q1 distribution will be payable on May 27, following the record date on May 10.

Gross revenue was 16.7 per cent higher at S$50.9 million in Q1, led by a 15.2 per cent increase in rental revenue to S$30.5 million and a 20.8 per cent rise in service charge and utilities recovery to S$18.7 million.

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Net property income (NPI) rose 21.3 per cent to S$31.3 million, from S$25.8 million a year ago.

“Amid improving operating conditions, easing of restrictions and the opening of borders to international travellers in Indonesia, most of our tenants are able to resume operations, albeit still subject to certain restrictions to reduce the risk of a sudden surge of cases,” said James Liew, chief executive officer of the manager.

“Notwithstanding that our portfolio occupancy has dipped marginally quarter-on-quarter to 79.1 per cent in Q1 2022, it remained higher than the industry average of 76.7 per cent, and we are seeing more active consumer behaviour and improving shopper traffic to our malls,” he added.

The Reit manager said shopper traffic in Q1 2022 has recovered to about 58 per cent of pre-Covid levels in Q1 2019.

Weighted average lease expiry by net lettable area for the portfolio stood at 3.12 years as at end March.

Approximately 10.4 per cent of expired leases or those due to expire in 2022 have renewed or committed to renew their leases, the Reit manager said, with average rental reversion of 2.3 per cent.

LMIR Trust’s gearing level stood at 42.9 per cent as at end March, with a fixed rate debt ratio of 42.5 per cent and a weighted average debt maturity of 2.56 years.

Units of LMIR Trust closed S$0.004 or 7.1 per cent higher at S$0.06 on Friday, before the announcement.