THE manager of Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIRT) on Tuesday (Aug 8) reported a net property income of S$63.2 million for the first half of its 2023 financial year, down 4.1 per cent from the S$65.9 million in the year ago period. 

Gross revenue dipped 2.9 per cent to S$99.6 million, from S$102.6 million a year ago.

H1 rental revenue also dropped by 7.7 per cent to S$56 million, which the trust’s manager attributed to currency depreciation of around 6.5 per cent of the Indonesian rupiah against the Singapore dollar.

There was also lower revenue contribution from two shopping centre sites in Indonesia – Lippo Plaza Kendari and Lippo Plaza Jogja – due to the expiry of master leases, as well as from malls undergoing asset enhancement initiative works, said the manager. 

Meanwhile, finance costs in the half year grew by 21.1 per cent to S$35.1 million, on the back of higher interest rates. 

No distribution will be paid to holders of its S$140 million and S$120 million perpetual securities, as announced in earlier months. This is to conserve capital and cash resources, as the trust continues to focus on addressing its debt obligations in the next 12 months, said the manager. 

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LMIRT’s portfolio occupancy stood at 81.4 per cent as at Jun 30, up from 80.4 per cent as recorded in the first quarter of FY2023. 

Shopper traffic has also recovered to 69.4 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, despite the current operational challenges, noted James Liew, chief executive officer of LMIRT’s manager. This includes “intense competition from newer malls” in those areas as well as “protracted recovery for tenants in hypermarket and supermarket sectors”. 

“With our continuous efforts in bringing in new tenants and renewing expiring leases, we secured 30,450 square metres of new leases and renewed 70.6 per cent of leases that expired in H1 2023 with a positive rental reversion of 1.2 per cent to-date,” he said. 

Shares of LMIRT closed 5.3 per cent or S$0.001 lower at S$0.018 on Tuesday, before the announcement.