MCT reports 22.9% increase in NPI amid higher revenue

MAPLETREE Commercial Trust (MCT) reported an improvement to gross revenue and net property income during its first quarter, mainly due to lower rental rebates compared to a year ago, and compensation received from a pre-terminated lease.

In a business update on Friday, the manager said MCT's net property income rose to S$96.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021, up 22.9 per cent from S$78.9 million a year earlier.

Meanwhile, gross revenue for the trust - which invests in retail and office properties - also climbed 23.7 per cent year-on-year to S$124.1 million.

"Our performance in Q1 FY21/22 was dampened by the re-imposition of Covid-19 measures in Singapore, including a five-week cessation of dining-in at all F&B establishments," said Sharon Lim, chief executive of the manager.

Even though the impact was less severe than a year ago, MCT said it has rolled out rental assistance.

Ms Lim said: "During the quarter, we rendered rebates amounting to approximately 0.6 month of fixed rents to eligible retail tenants, and we stand ready to render additional assistance where warranted."

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The manager said that all properties recorded higher year-on-year contribution to net property income, except for Mapletree Business City, which posted a slight decline.

The biggest improvement came from VivoCity, which saw net property income rise from S$16.4 million to S$29.6 million.

The manager said that recovery momentum at VivoCity was disrupted by tightened Covid-19 measures that took effect from May 16. However, it added that the impact was less significant than last year, when non-essential businesses were shut for 10 weeks.

MCT noted that when dining in was allowed to resume towards the end of June, the average daily shopper traffic at VivoCity reached about half of pre-Covid-19 levels, and rental rebates disbursed to eligible retail tenants was lower than the same period a year ago.

MCT's office and business park assets saw net property income rise 7.7 per cent year-on-year in Q1, and the manager said it was mainly due to compensation received from a pre-terminated lease at mTower.

For the overall portfolio, net property income margin during the quarter was 78.1 per cent. As at quarter-end, the committed occupancy of the portfolio was 95.4 per cent.

Ms Lim said: "Although the country is once again retightening measures to contain the community spread of Covid-19, we can remain hopeful that recovery is nearer than before given the continued progress in vaccinating the majority of the population."

She added: "MCT will continue to manage our assets actively and position them well for the eventual recovery."

MCT units closed at S$2.14 on Friday, down S$0.01 or 0.5 per cent, before the announcement.