- FY2021 performance boosted by the acquisition of the remaining 63.11% stake in AsiaRetail Fund Limited (the “ARF Acquisition”)
- Healthy financial position with gearing at 33.3%
- Portfolio occupancy remained resilient at 97.3% and tenants’ sales between July 2021 and September 2021 was approximately 93% to 98% of the pre-COVID levels
SINGAPORE, 27 OCTOBER 2021
Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management Ltd. (“FCAM” or the “Manager”), the manager of Frasers Centrepoint Trust (“FCT” or the “Trust”), is pleased to report distribution per unit (“DPU”) of 6.089 Singapore cents for the six-month period from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021 (“2H2021”). The books closure date for the 2H2021 DPU is 5.00 p.m. on 5 November 2021 and the payment date is 29 November 2021. The total DPU for the year ended 30 September 2021 (“FY2021”) is 12.085 Singapore cents, which is 33.7% higher year-on-year.
Mr Richard Ng, Chief Executive Officer of FCAM, said, “We are pleased that FCT has delivered a good set of results for FY2021, mainly on the contributions from the ARF Acquisition. It has been another challenging year due to the COVID-19 situation, which has weighed on some tenants’ businesses and shopper traffic to our malls. In this challenging time, we see omnichannel retailing as a viable way to help cushion the impact on our tenants and to generate additional sales. Since its launch in January this year, the sales from Frasers eStore have tripled; and the sales from the F&B concierge Makan Master grew seven times since its launch in April 2020.
Going forward, we believe there is resilient demand for retail spaces within well-located and dominant suburban retail malls as the economy re-opens.”
Summary of 2H2021 and FY2021 results
In S$ million unless otherwise stated |
2H2021 Six-month period ended 30/9/2021 |
2H2020 Six-month period ended 30/9/2020 |
Increase/ (Decrease) |
FY2021 Year ended 30/9/2021 |
FY2020 Year ended 30/9/2020 |
Increase/ (Decrease) |
Gross revenue |
167.53 |
64.46 |
159.9% |
341.15 |
164.38 |
107.5% |
Net property income (“NPI”) |
120.91 |
38.61 |
213.2% |
246.57 |
110.89 |
122.4% |
Distributable income |
103.57 |
30.12 |
243.9% |
204.67 |
101.15 |
102.4% |
DPU (S cents) |
6.089 |
4.372 |
39.3% |
12.085 |
9.042 |
33.7% |
|
As at 30 September 2021 |
As at 30 September 2020 |
|
|||
Net asset value and net tangible asset value per Unit (S$) |
2.30 |
2.27 |
1.3% |
|||
Note: Any discrepancies between the listed figures, the aggregate or the variance in percentage is due to rounding.
FY2021 performance boosted by ARF Acquisition
Revenue for 2H2021 grew 159.9% to S$167.5 million and full year revenue more than doubled to a new-high of S$341.2 million. NPI for 2H2021 was S$120.9 million, and this brought the full year NPI to S$246.6 million. NPI margin in 2H2021 improved to 72.2% from 59.9% a year ago, and this helped lift the NPI margin for the year to 72.3%, from 67.5% in FY2020. Distributable income for 2H2021 jumped 243.9% y-o-y to S$103.6 million and distributable income for the full year is S$204.7 million. The improved full year financial performance was attributed to the ARF Acquisition and lower rental rebates granted to tenants this year, and partially offset by the loss of contribution from the properties divested during the year.
Healthy financial position with gearing at 33.3%
Total assets as at 30 September 2021 stood at approximately S$5.9 billion, an increase of approximately S$2 billion due to the ARF Acquisition but partially offset by the divestment of Bedok Point, Anchorpoint and YewTee Point in FY2021. Net asset value per unit as at 30 September 2021 was up 1.3% to S$2.30. The aggregate appraised value of FCT’s investment portfolio remained relatively stable. The largest mall, Causeway Point, saw 0.5% uplift in its appraised value to S$1,312 million and two other properties Changi City Point and Yishun 10 retail podium saw declines in their appraised values. The appraised values of all other properties were unchanged compared with the previous year.
FCT’s financial position remains healthy with gearing level of 33.3%1 and year-to-date interest coverage ratio of 5.11 times as at 30 September 2021. The year-to-date all-in average cost of borrowing was 2.2%. The proportion of borrowings hedged to fixed rate is 56% as at 30 September 2021.
Retail portfolio2 occupancy improved to 97.3% from 96.4% in 3Q2021
FCT’s retail portfolio committed occupancy improved 0.9 percentage-point to 97.3%. A total of 459 leases were renewed in FY2021 and the rental reversion of the retail portfolio, on an incoming versus outgoing basis, stood at -0.6%3.
Portfolio tenants’ sales between July 2021 and September 2021 was approximately 93% to 98% of the pre-COVID levels. Performance for the various trade sectors and among tenants remain uneven. Jewellery & Watches was the best performing trade sector during the three-month period while other trades that achieved positive y-o-y sales growth were Education, Supermarket & Grocers and Sport Apparel & Equipment. The portfolio shopper traffic between July 2021 and September 2021 was 50% to 60% of pre-COVID levels.
Outlook
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (the “MTI”) has upgraded its GDP growth forecast4 for 2021 to “6.0 to 7.0 per cent”, from “4.0 to 6.0 per cent”. The MTI noted that the Singapore economy should see gradual recovery in the second half of the year, but recovery is expected to remain uneven across the various sectors of the economy. The Department of Statistics Singapore noted in its release of the Retail Sales Index and Food & Beverage Services Index for August 20215, that retail sales (excluding motor vehicles) was at a similar level as August 2020, compared with 2.0% year-on-year increase in July 2021.
On 20 October 2021, the Government announced that the Stabilisation Phase, originally meant to end after 24 October 2021, will be extended by four weeks until 21 November 2021. The safe management measures, which include the two-person cap on social gatherings and dining at F&B establishments, will also be extended by the same duration. These measures will be reviewed at the two-week mark of the extension and may be adjusted based on the community situation at that time. These measures will continue to affect retail businesses, shopper traffic and general sentiments. The Manager will monitor and review the situation.
Whilst the suburban retail sector in Singapore has remained relatively resilient through the various COVID-19 phases, the risks of the COVID-19 situation continue to pose uncertainties on FCT’s business and financial performance. The easing of the safe management measures by the authorities will help to support the recovery of our tenants’ sales and shopper traffic at FCT’s malls. In the near-term, the Manager will continue to focus on managing the operating and financial performance of FCT’s portfolio, taking into consideration the evolving COVID-19 situation.