Far East Hospitality Trust (FEHT) has reported a lower gross revenue of $25.2 million for the 1QFY2025 ended March 31, 6.8% lower y-o-y. This was mainly due to lower master lease revenue from the hotels and serviced residences segment with the absence of major events such as the concerts held by Taylor Swift, Coldplay and Bruno Mars in 1Q2024. The biennial Singapore Airshow did not take place this year either.
Hotels revenue fell by 9.2% y-o-y to $18.2 million while serviced residences revenue fell by 8.8% y-o-y to $2.4 million.
FEHT's commercial premises segment, on the other hand, saw revenue increase by 4.9% y-o-y due to improved occupancy.
Net property income (NPI) fell by 8.3% y-o-y to $23 million due to the lower gross revenue and higher property taxes.
During the quarter, average occupancy for FEHT's hotels fell by 1.4 percentage points y-o-y to 79%. The average daily rate (ADR) fell by 4.4% y-o-y to $171. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell by 6% y-o-y to $135. Despite the softer performance, the portfolio outperformed the broader upper midscale and upscale hotel segments, which saw sharper y-o-y RevPAR declines, says FEHT.
FEHT's serviced residences also saw lower average occupancy, which fell by 9.7 percentage points y-o-y to 73.6%. This was due to lift replacement works at Village Residence Robertson Quay as well as the transition following the concurrent departure of a few large groups.
See also: Starhill Global REIT reports net property income of $37.9 mil for 3QFY2024/5, up 0.5% y-o-y
ADR for serviced residences rose by 5.9% y-o-y to $280 due to a higher proportion of short-stay and leisure guests although revenue per available unit (RevPAU) fell overall by 6.5% y-o-y to $206.
As at March 31, FEHT's aggregate leverage stood at 31.2% with an interest coverage ratio of 2.9 times.
The trust has 57.4% of its borrowings on fixed rates, to which an increase or decrease of 25 basis points on interest rates on its variable rate debt may impact its distribution per stapled security (DPS) by about 0.04 cents.
See also: IREIT Global’s portfolio occupancy at 88.7% at end March
According to FEHT, the trust has $9.7 million available from the $18 million incentive fee from the divestment of Central Square in March 2023 to cushion any potential increase in interest expenses.
As at 10.41am, units in FEHT are trading flat at 55.5 cents.
