Fashion
CapitaLand Retail China Trust Management Limited (CRCTML), the manager of CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT), today announced that it posted higher distributable income of S$26.7 million for 1Q 2018, an increase of 9.6% from S$24.4 million a year ago. Distribution per unit was 2.75 cents, 0.4% higher than 1Q 2017. Based on CRCT’s closing price of S$1.55 on 26 April 2018, the annualised distribution yield for the quarter was 7.2%.
In 1Q 2018, CRCT’s multi-tenanted malls registered a robust rental reversion of 12.8%. Portfolio occupancy as at 31 March 2018 remained strong at 95%. Tenants’ sales and shopper traffic for the quarter increased year-on year by 2.1% and 7.7% respectively.
Mr Tan Tze Wooi, CEO of CRCTML, said: “Since completing the acquisition of Rock Square on 31 January 2018, we have been strengthening the mall’s appeal through active tenant mix adjustments. By the end of 1Q 2018, Rock Square’s occupancy improved to 97.1% from 96.4% as at 30 June 2017, with an encouraging rental reversion of more than 20%. We made progress in enhancing the mall’s operational efficiency by replacing its manned carpark payment booth with an electronic system, and achieved significant cost savings by working with CapitaLand to manage the mall. We will be further finetuning Rock Square’s tenant mix and retail layout to maximise the potential of this well-located mall.”
“The reconfiguration of the recovered space at CapitaMall Wangjing is on track and the space is almost fully leased. Opening progressively from 2Q 2018, shoppers can look forward to more than 20 retail, lifestyle and dining concepts including Sisyphe Book Cafe, YID cooking studio and Lao Wang Hotpot – several of which are new-to-market in the Wangjing subdistrict. These new stores will almost double the recovered space’s rental income and diversify the mall’s offerings to draw in more shoppers.”
“We have been proactively curating new concepts in our malls that are refreshing and relevant to shoppers. An example is CapitaMall Grand Canyon’s unmanned convenience store – a retail trend that is catching on in Beijing – that is operated by Bianlifeng. We have also introduced trendy gourmet concepts P.Plus Bakery Club and Greybox Coffee to CapitaMall Xinnan and CapitaMall Wangjing respectively. Other new concepts in our portfolio include China’s first standalone C&A Kids apparel store in CapitaMall Xinnan and Wuhan’s first indoor simulated counter strike gaming centre in CapitaMall Minzhongleyuan. To enhance shopper engagement, we continue to embrace digital initiatives such as robotic concierge and augmented reality gaming. Looking ahead, we will further build on our strong foundation and proactively look at further optimising our portfolio to create more value for Unitholders.”
