Perennial China Retail Trust posts one-off interim DPU of 0.95 cents

PERENNIAL China Retail Trust (PCRT) on Tuesday reported an unchanged distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.95 Singapore cents for its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2014, on the back of a steady distributable amount at S$10.9 million.

It said: "In view of the voluntary conditional general offer for PCRT announced on Oct 27 by Perennial Real Estate Holdings Limited (formerly known as St James Holdings), the sponsor of PCRT, the trustee-manager has declared a one-off interim distribution for the DPU of 0.95 Singapore cents for Q3 2014, instead of making semi-annual payments based on half-yearly results."

It also reported a net property income of S$2.1 million, reversing net property losses of S$2.0 million a year ago.

The improvement came from lower property operating expenses, thanks mainly to the absence of a leasing commission of S$1.2 million as well as marketing, advertising and promotion expenditure for the opening of Perennial Jihua Mall in Foshan.

Revenue more than tripled to S$5.2 million, comprising rentals generated by that Foshan mall, operational since Q3 2013, and Perennial Qingyang Mall, which began operating in Chengdu in Q2 2014.

The book-closure date is Nov 12, 2014. The distribution will be paid on Dec 3, 2014.