Rent increase lifts Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust's Q4 DPU

HIGHER rents at its first two properties and an enlarged portfolio due to the acquisition of a third boosted available distribution per unit (DPU) for Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust (MGCCT) in the fourth quarter.

MGCCT, which started out owning a mall in Hong Kong and a commercial building in Beijing, posted an available DPU of 1.923 Singapore cents for the three months ended March 31 this year, up 10.4 per cent from the previous year, it said in a press release on Wednesday night.

Distributable income for Q4 rose 11.9 per cent to S$53.03 million, net property income jumped 17.3 per cent to S$73.02 million and revenue climbed 15.2 per cent to S$87.83 million year on year.

The revenue expansion was due to the acquisition of Sandhill Plaza in Shanghai in June 2015, rent increases at its Festival Walk mall in Hong Kong and Gateway Plaza building in Beijing as well as the appreciation of the Hong Kong dollar against the Singapore dollar, MGCCT said.

The trust distributes on a semi-annual basis. Its second distribution for the financial year will be 3.771 Singapore cents for the period from Oct 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016, it said.

MGCCT units closed half a cent up at S$0.99 on Wednesday.