SINGAPORE – Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) for the second half of 2023 ended December fell by 10.2 per cent to 3.659 cents, from 4.074 cents the year before.
Gross revenue was up 6.6 per cent at $238.4 million for the period, which was offset mainly by a 29.1 per cent jump in property expenses and a 57.1 per cent drop in interest income, the Reit’s manager said on Jan 24.
Net property income (NPI) fell 1.8 per cent on the year to $159.8 million.
Distributable income dropped 9.4 per cent year on year to $106.3 million.
Distribution of 1.866 cents per unit for the period from Oct 1 to Dec 31, 2023, will be paid by the end of February 2024.
DPU for the full fiscal year 2023 was down 19.7 per cent at 7.135 cents.
Distributable income fell 19.1 per cent to $206.8 million, compared with $255.5 million a year earlier.
While gross revenue for the full-year period increased 8.3 per cent to $462.7 million, NPI eased 0.8 per cent to $313.2 million.
The manager noted that while operational performance of the Singapore office, retail and convention portfolios continued to improve, the Reit still faced higher financing costs.
It also had lower contributions from overseas properties arising from vacancies at 55 Currie Street in Adelaide, Southgate Complex in Melbourne and The Minster Building in London, and leasing incentives given for 177 Pacific Highway in Sydney.
“(The) Australian dollar has also weakened by 6.6 per cent against the Singapore dollar during these periods,” said the manager, adding that these factors weighed on the distribution.
Units of Suntec Reit closed three cents higher at $1.23 on Jan 24.
THE BUSINESS TIMES
