CapitaLand China Trust's (CLCT) 1HFY2025 distribution per unit (DPU) fell by 17.3% y-o-y to 2.49 cents after retention. CLCT's manager retained $1.75 million.
The lower DPU resulted from a decline in gross revenue, net property income and the weakening of the renminbi (RMB) against the Singapore dollar (SGD), which was partially offset by savings in finance costs.
Gross revenue declined by 7.9% y-o-y to $159.2 million. The decrease in gross revenue was attributed to lower contributions from the retail portfolio, largely due to ongoing supermarket upgrades at three retail malls, and lower occupancy at the business parks portfolio. This was partially offset by stronger performance from the logistics parks portfolio, which recorded a 2.0% y-o-y increase.
Including distributions from CapitaMall Yuhuating, which were retained in view of its divestment to CapitaLand Commercial C-REIT (CLCR) as a seed asset, the DPU would have been 2.59 cents.
As at June 30, CLCT’s cost of debt stood at 3.42% per annum, reflecting a reduction of 9 basis points from March 31.
CLCT maintained an interest coverage ratio of 2.9 times, while gearing remained stable at 42.1%, below the regulatory limit of 50%.
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CLCT completed the refinancing of all loans due in FY2025.
The average term to maturity of its borrowings was 3.6 years. 87% of CLCT’s total debt is on fixed interest rates.
In April, CLCT issued a RMB600 million bond due 2028 at 2.88% per annum. The proportion of its RMB denominated loan facilities stood at 41% of its total debt, on track to meeting its 50% target by end-2025.
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CLCT’s retail portfolio occupancy stood at 96.9%. Footfall across the retail portfolio increased by 1.0% y-o-y, while tenant sales rose by 0.1% y-o-y, moderated by ongoing asset enhancement initiatives.
Excluding sales from supermarkets in CapitaMall Xuefu in Harbin and CapitaMall Wangjing and CapitaMall Xizhimen in Beijing, where upgrades are underway, tenant sales would have increased by 2.5% y-o-y.
Sales in key trade sectors such as Toys & Hobbies, Jewellery & Watches and Information & Technology increased by 46.0%, 18.0% and 17.8% y-o-y, respectively. This was mainly due to the government’s policies supporting domestic consumption, the rising popularity of the collectible toy market, as well as the continued demand for gold products.
Occupancy of CLCT’s business parks grew from 83.7% as at end-March to 86.9% as at end-June. CLCT’s logistics parks' occupancy rate rose to 96.6% as at end-June from 95.7% a quarter ago. Three out of four logistics assets are fully leased.
