CMMT’s 1H 2014 distribution per unit rises 4.1% year-on-year
Distribution per unit of 4.53 sen for 1H 2014
Kuala Lumpur, 17 July 2014 – – CapitaMalls Malaysia REIT Management Sdn. Bhd. (“CMRM”), the manager of CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust (“CMMT”), is pleased to announce that CMMT achieved a distribution per unit (“DPU”) of 4.53 sen for the period from 1 January to 30 June 2014 (“1H 2014”), 4.1% higher than the 4.35 sen in the same period last year (“1H 2013”). Unitholders can expect to receive their DPU of 4.53 sen per unit for 1H 2014 on 29 August 2014.
The annualised DPU of 9.14 sen for 1H 2014 is 4.2% higher than the 8.77 sen for the same period last year, and translates to an annualised distribution yield of 6.1% based on CMMT’s closing price of RM1.49 per unit on 16 July 2014.
For the quarter from 1 April 2014 to 30 June 2014 (“2Q 2014”), CMMT’s DPU increased to 2.21 sen, 1.8% higher than the 2.17 sen for the same period in 2013 (“2Q 2013”). CMMT achieved net property income of RM51.2 million for the quarter, 1.4% higher than the RM50.5 million for 2Q 2013. The increase was partly due to the full-quarter contribution from the newly configured units of Phase 1 of the asset enhancement works at East Coast Mall.
Mr David Wong Chin Huat, Chairman of CMRM, said, “The Malaysian economy is projected to grow steadily, expanding between 4.5% and 5.5%1 in 2014. Private consumption is expected to remain strong, underpinned by healthy labour market conditions and continued wage growth. Thus, despite the higher cost pressures, we are confident that our portfolio of well-diversified necessity malls will continue to deliver a stable performance in the second half of this year.”
Ms Sharon Lim, CEO of CMRM, said, “For the quarter under review, our malls, especially The Mines and East Coast Mall, continued their steady performance. The Mines achieved stellar net property income growth of 14.2% year-on-year for the quarter. East Coast Mall’s net property income rose by 3.8% year-on-year even though it was undergoing asset enhancement that involved the closure of some retail space for reconfiguration, as well as some car park spaces for conversion to retail units. We have embarked on Phase 2 of the asset enhancement works for East Coast Mall. This involves the extension of the alfresco area, and reconfiguration of the ground, first and second floors to further enhance its trade mix. Gurney Plaza has also begun reconfiguration works on the ground floor extension wing to improve the visibility of the retail stores and increase the net lettable area of the mall. The completion of these asset enhancement initiatives will further enhance the value of our portfolio and generate returns for our unitholders.”
“Though Sungei Wang Plaza’s net property income is being impacted by the ongoing Mass Rapid Transit works nearby in the short term, the mall will stand to benefit from the increased flow of shopper traffic when the MRT station is expected to become operational in 2017. In the meantime, the strong performance of the other malls in our portfolio will continue to ensure that we can deliver stable returns for our unitholders.”
Summary of CMMT’s results
2Q 2014 |
2Q 2013 |
Change (%) |
1H 2014 |
1H 2013 |
Change (%) |
|
Gross revenue (RM’000) |
78,223 |
74,554 |
4.9 |
157,195 |
148,938 |
5.5 |
Net property income (RM’000) |
51,230 |
50,500 |
1.4 |
103,711 |
102,044 |
1.6 |
Distributable income (RM’000) |
39,251 |
38,469 |
2.0 |
80,456 |
77,012 |
4.5 |
DPU (sen) |
||||||
For the period |
2.21 |
2.17 |
1.8 |
4.53 |
4.35 |
4.1 |
Annualised DPU |
8.86 |
8.70 |
1.8 |
9.14 |
8.77 |
4.2 |
Annualised distribution yield |
||||||
Based on closing price of RM1.49 per unit on 16 July 2014 |
5.9% |
N.M. |
N.M. |
6.1% |
N.M. |
N.M. |
N.M. – Not meaningful