Starhill Global Reit's Q3 revenue down 0.6% year-on-year

IN a business update on Monday, Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust (SGReit) posted a 0.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) dip in revenue to S$46.4 million for its third quarter ended March 31.

Net property income (NPI) rose 0.6 per cent y-o-y to S$35.4 million. Of the stable NPI for the quarter, the Reit manager said this was mainly due to lower rental assistance to tenants affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, lower operating expenses and the appreciation of Australian dollars.

However, it was partially offset by the weaker performance of the Singapore portfolio, as a result of lower rent, occupancy and allowance for rebates and arrears.

SGReit's Singapore portfolio had contributed 63.2 per cent of total revenue in Q3 FY20/21, while its Australia portfolio contributed 24.5 per cent. Malaysian properties, meanwhile, contributed 9.9 per cent of revenue, with the remaining 2.4 per cent comprising one property in China and two in Japan.

As at March 31, the Reit's retail portfolio occupancy stood at 97 per cent. About 5.1 per cent of retail leases by gross rents will be expiring in FY20/21.

Additionally, for the quarter, tenant's sales and shopper traffic in its Wisma Atria property continued to improve to 83.4 per cent and 74.2 per cent of pre-circuit breaker levels respectively, boosted by the Phase 3 reopening last December and the gradual return of office workers, said the manager.

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However, a lack of tourists due to border restrictions continues to impact tenants' sales and shopper traffic, it added.

SGReit's average debt maturity stood at 3.1 years as at March 31, an extension of the 2.3 years as at Dec 31, 2020.

In February, the group had drawn down on its five-year S$250 million unsecured term loan facilities to refinance a maturing S$100 million medium-term note that month, along with a S$150 million term loan ahead of maturity in September.

Additionally, earlier this month, SGReit announced that it had entered into a five-and-a-half year unsecured facility agreement with two banks for a term loan facility of A$100 million (S$103 million), which will be used to fully refinance the remaining A$80 million term loan secured against Myer Centre Adelaide ahead of its maturity in November 2021, as well as working capital requirements and/or general corporate funding purposes of the Reit. This includes debt repayments, asset enhancement works, capital expenditure and acquisitions.

Looking ahead, the manager said that the recent roll-out of vaccines is positive for global recovery. However, it said that it remains "cautious as vaccine deployment, reopening of borders and return of consumer confidence will take time; and (the) Covid-19 impact remains uncertain".

It added: "We will continue to monitor the impact of the pandemic on tenants' businesses so as to render necessary assistance while maintaining financial robustness given the fluidity of Covid-19."

Units of SGReit closed flat at S$0.56 on Monday, prior to the business update.