FRASERS Centrepoint Trust : J69U 0% (FCT) on Thursday (Apr 25) posted a 1.8 per cent drop in distribution per unit (DPU) for the first half ended Mar 31 to S$0.06022, from S$0.0613 in the same period a year earlier.

The fall in DPU came as FCT recorded declines in both its gross revenue and net property income (NPI), following lower contributions from Changi City Point – divested in October 2023 – and from Tampines 1, which is undergoing an asset enhancement initiative (AEI), the manager said.

Gross revenue for the half-year period was down 7.2 per cent to S$172.2 million from S$185.7 million. NPI fell 8.4 per cent to S$124.6 million from S$136 million.

Excluding the effects from the Changi City Point divestment and the AEI works at Tampines 1, gross revenue would have grown 2.9 per cent, while NPI would have risen 2.1 per cent.

The DPU included an advanced distribution of S$0.0425 for the period between Oct 1, 2023, and Feb 4, 2024, which was paid on Apr 2, 2024. The balance distribution of S$0.01772 will be paid on May 30, 2024, FCT said in its interim financial statement.

Distributions to unitholders for the period inched up 0.2 per cent on the year to S$104.9 million, from S$104.7 million.

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FCT released S$1.1 million of tax-exempt income available for distribution to unitholders in H1 2024, which was previously retained in H2 2023. In H1 2023, it released S$1.7 million in income available for distribution, which was retained in H1 2022.

The real estate investment trust’s gearing stood at 38.5 per cent as at Mar 31, 2024, up slightly from 37.2 per cent at Dec 31, 2023. There are no borrowings maturing for the remaining period of FY2024, the manager said.

Its committed occupancy remained unchanged at 99.9 per cent from the previous quarter. FCT also recorded better rental reversions of 7.5 per cent on an average versus average basis, excluding Tampines 1 due to the AEI works.

The manager expects the works, which are progressing on schedule, to conclude by September 2024. More than 99 per cent of the AEI spaces have already been committed, with new tenants such as Lenskart Studio, Love, Bonito, Mister Donut, and SaSa. “We are also concurrently reviewing AEI plans for other malls in our portfolio and will announce them in due course,” said Richard Ng, chief executive of FCT’s manager.

Its counter closed down 0.5 per cent or S$0.01 at S$2.17 on Thursday.