Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust keeps Q3 DPU unchanged at S$0.0242 due to higher finance costs

MAPLETREE Pan Asia Commercial Trust’s (MPACT) distribution per unit (DPU) stayed flat at S$0.0242 for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2022, unchanged from a year earlier. This was due to higher finance costs, its manager said in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Jan 31).

Gross revenue was up 84 per cent to S$239.8 million for the quarter, from S$130.3 million previously.

Net property income (NPI) grew 76.8 per cent on the year to S$179.4 million for the quarter, from S$101.5 million

The growth in gross revenue and NPI was mostly driven by the full-quarter contribution from the properties acquired through the merger and higher earnings from the trust’s Singapore portfolio, its manager said.

Its Singapore portfolio includes core asset VivoCity, which registered 7.9 per cent rental uplift on a year-to-date FY2022/2023 basis. Driven by strong festive spending, the mall’s third-quarter tenant sales for FY2022/2023 reached S$300.1 million, well surpassing pre-Covid levels, said the manager’s chief executive officer Sharon Lim.

The merger of Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) to form MPACT was completed on Jul 21, 2022.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Meanwhile, the amount available for distribution rose 59.7 per cent year on year to S$128.3 million, from S$80.3 million.

A distribution of S$0.0242 per unit for the period Oct 1 to Dec 31, 2022 will be paid on Mar 15 after the record date of Feb 8.

For the nine months ended Dec 31, 2022, gross revenue was up 58.5 per cent to S$592.9 million. NPI was up 56 per cent to S$454.6 million, while the amount available for distribution was up 45.6 per cent to S$330.3 million. (See *Amendment note)

DPU for the nine months rose 8.1 per cent to S$0.0736. The amount of S$0.0736 includes a clean-up distribution of S$0.0304 per unit for the period from Apr 1 to Jul 20, 2022, paid on Aug 25, 2022.

For FY2022/2023 year to date, MPACT renewed or relet about 1.9 million square feet of net lettable area. Its manager noted that all markets except Greater China registered positive rental uplifts, with VivoCity and The Pinnacle Gangnam achieving “respectable” reversion rates of 7.9 per cent and 14.2 per cent respectively.

MPACT’s committed occupancy across its portfolio was 95.5 per cent as at Dec 31, 2022. The weighted average lease expiry (Wale) for the trust’s retail and office as well as business park leases was 2.1 years and 2.9 years respectively, translating into an overall portfolio Wale of 2.6 years.

Its manager said that the debt maturity profile remains well-spread, with no more than 22 per cent of debt expiring in any financial year. Lim noted that despite heightened global economic uncertainties affecting overall leasing activities, MPACT has closed the quarter by “locking in positive rental uplifts across all markets except Greater China, and achieved a healthy portfolio committed occupancy of 95.5 per cent”.

Looking ahead, she added, the operating environment is likely to remain rough with weaker global economic outlook, elevated energy prices and volatile interest rates. “We will continue to forge ahead with our proactive asset management approach, implement measures to protect our financial well-being, and seize the right opportunities to achieve a balance of risks and costs.”

Units of MPACT closed at S$1.82 on Tuesday, down S$0.01 or 0.6 per cent, before the results release.

*Amendment note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated MPACT’s financial results as full year values, when they were for the nine months ended December.