SINGAPORE - CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) on Feb 6 posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 5.45 cents for the second half ended December, up 1.7 per cent from 5.36 cents in the previous corresponding period.

This came as gross revenue rose, helped by higher rental and occupancy rates, which supported a rise in net property income (NPI).

Gross revenue was up 4.1 per cent to $785.2 million for the half-year period, from $754.1 million in the year-ago period.

NPI, meanwhile, grew 4 per cent on the year to $563.6 million for the half-year period, from $541.7 million.

Distributable income was up 2.1 per cent to $362.5 million from $355.1 million in the same period the year before. The manager attributed the rise in distributable income to proactive portfolio management and prudent cost management.

The real estate investment trust (Reit) will pay the distribution on March 28, after the record date on Feb 15.

Ms Teo Swee Lian, chairman of CICT’s manager, said the Reit adopted a conservative approach in 2023 in response to challenging market conditions and a high-cost environment.

“We focused on driving organic growth through proactive portfolio management, prudent cost management and discipline in capital management. This strategy has yielded positive results.”

For the full year ended Dec 31, DPU was 1.6 per cent higher at 10.75 cents as distributable income climbed 1.9 per cent to $715.7 million. Gross revenue was 8.2 per cent higher at $1.6 billion, while NPI rose 7 per cent to $1.1 billion for the full year.

The improvement in performance was mainly due to higher contributions from Raffles City Singapore, coupled with full-year contributions from the Reit’s 2022 acquisitions, the manager said.

The gains were offset by higher finance costs from the full-year impact of borrowings taken to fund the acquisitions in 2022 and higher interest rates.

CICT signed 1.7 million sq ft of new leases and renewals during the full-year period, comprising one million sq ft in office space and 700,000 sq ft in retail space.

Its committed portfolio occupancy was 97.3 per cent for the 12 months ended December, up 1.5 percentage points from the same period the previous year.

The Reit’s aggregate leverage stood at 39.9 per cent as at Dec 31, 2023. Some 78 per cent of its total borrowings were on fixed interest rates.

CICT’s debt maturity is well spread over various tenures, with an average term to maturity of 3.9 years.

CICT units closed two cents higher at $1.98 on Feb 6. THE BUSINESS TIMES