FCT – BT

FCT distributable income rises 19% in Q3

Gross revenue up 10% to $20.8m; DPU rises to 1.88 cents

FRASERS Centrepoint Trust (FCT) yesterday reported distributable income of $12.2 million for the third quarter ended June 30, 2008 – an increase of 19 per cent from the year-ago period.

This came on the back of a 10 per cent growth in gross revenue from Q3 2007 to $20.8 million.

Higher portfolio occupancy, strong rental renewals at Causeway Point, and better performance from the post-revamp Anchorpoint drove gross revenue increase.

Distribution per unit (DPU) for the quarter stood at 1.88 cents, 13 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

‘Strong organic growth coupled with the successful revamp of Anchorpoint delivered record distributable income to FCT unitholders for the second consecutive quarter,’ said Christopher Tang, CEO of FCT manager Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management Ltd.

With the completion of enhancement work at Anchorpoint, overall portfolio occupancy improved 2.8 percentage points from a year ago to 95.7 per cent as at June 30.

Anchorpoint enjoyed close to full occupancy and rents rose over 40 per cent, resulting in its gross revenue more than trebling to $1.7 million in Q3.

At Causeway Point, renewed rentals in Q3 2008 were 17 per cent above preceding rates.

‘Unitholders can also look forward to benefiting from the current enhancement work to Northpoint which remains on schedule for completion in June 2009,’ said Mr Tang.

As for Northpoint 2, construction is on schedule and work is in the final stages of completion.

The property is expected to obtain Temporary Occupation Permit by Q4 2008, and could be injected into FCT by the fourth calendar quarter this year or the first calendar quarter next year.

According to FCT, demand for Northpoint 2 is strong and almost all of its net lettable area has been leased or tagged in advanced stages of negotiations.

FCT has a gearing of 29.5 per cent and an A3 corporate rating from Moody’s.

‘Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the manager of FCT expects FCT to benefit from the rental renewals and the proactive asset management activities planned for the rest of the financial year ending 30 September, 2008,’ the trust’s financial statement said.

FCT’s units closed unchanged at $1.15 yesterday.