Singapore-listed Croesus Retail Trust achieved a 17.2 per cent increase in quarterly earnings to $23 million from its Japanese shopping centre investments.

But that was not enough to change its distribution per unit (DPU) for the quarter, which remained flat at 2.08 cents.

The retail property investor says its earnings rose on the back of its acquisition of One’s Mall in Chiba and lease renewals at Mallage Shobu in the Saitama Prefecture.

However, the increase was partially offset by the absence of a one-off income at Mallage Shobu recorded in the first quarter last year.

Net property income rose 10.7 per cent accordingly.

CRT has seven retail properties in Japan with a combined net lettable area of about 251,000 sqm.

The company says competition for buying real estate assets in Japan has been keen over recent quarters, a trend expected to continue in the short term.