CMMT posts net property income of RM51.3 million for 1H 2021
Distribution per unit of 0.86 sen for 1H 2021
Kuala Lumpur, 22 July 2021 – CapitaLand Malaysia REIT Management Sdn. Bhd. (formerly known as CapitaLand Malaysia Mall REIT Management Sdn. Bhd.) (CMRM), the manager of CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust (CMMT), announced today a net property income (NPI) of RM51.3 million for the period ended 30 June 2021 (1H 2021), 12.6% lower than the NPI of RM58.7 million achieved for the corresponding period last year. This was mainly attributed to lower gross rental income, which was affected by negative rental reversions.
Distributable income for 1H 2021 was RM18.2 million and distribution per unit (DPU) was 0.86 sen. The Board of CMRM has determined that the Distribution Reinvestment Plan (DRP) will be offered to this first income distribution of 1H 2021. The dates of book closure and income distribution will be announced upon obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.
Mr Lui Chong Chee, Chairman of CMRM, said: “Malaysia’s economic recovery has been impacted by a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, which led to the introduction of stricter containment measures since May 2021. On a brighter note, the Government has announced the National Recovery Plan1, aimed at getting the country back to normalcy by the end of the year. We are gratified to note that retail has been identified as one of the key economic sectors prioritised for vaccination and the Retail Industry Vaccination Programme will be rolled out from next week.”
“Given the fluid nature of the pandemic and heightened macroeconomic uncertainties, we maintain a cautious outlook for the rest of the year, whilst continuing to be proactive in looking after the well-being of our stakeholders. Notwithstanding the challenges, we are positive that CMMT’s expanded investment mandate to also cover new economy sectors beyond retail will open up new opportunities for CMMT to strengthen its performance through economic cycles.”
Having obtained the Unitholders’ support for CMMT’s investment mandate expansion beyond the retail sector at the recent Extraordinary General Meeting, CMRM and MTrustee Berhad (Trustee of CMMT) have entered into the Fifth Amended and Restated Trust Deed to formalise the mandate expansion. Upon obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, the name of CMMT will be changed to CapitaLand Malaysia Trust (CLMT).
Ms Low Peck Chen, CEO of CMRM, said: “For 1H 2021, CMMT’s financial performance was impacted by the various stages of movement controls, which severely affected the business operations of the retail sector. Under the stricter guidelines, only tenants providing essential services can operate. As a result, portfolio shopper traffic declined 17.9% in 2Q 2021 from the previous quarter.
“To maintain portfolio stability, we will continue to balance rental reversions and occupancy levels. We remain focused on strengthening operational efficiency and supporting our tenants in a targeted manner so that CMMT’s retail ecosystem can emerge stronger from COVID-19. With financial discipline, we will proactively look for acquisition opportunities in existing and new asset classes to create value for our Unitholders.”
CMMT will continue to leverage CapitaStar and develop digital marketing initiatives to boost tenant sales. In support of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, almost all the employees of CMRM and property managers have registered for the programme and are at various stages of vaccination. For the safety and well-being of shoppers, tenants, visitors and employees, precautionary measures in accordance with relevant authorities’ guidelines will continue at all CMMT properties.
Summary of CMMT results
1 The National Recovery Plan (NRP) is a four-phased exit strategy from June to December 2021 from the pandemic. Based on the NRP, the thresholds to transition to a more relaxed phase are premised on the number of daily average cases; state of the healthcare system; and percentage of fully vaccinated population.