CapitaLand Malls ‘resilient’ to tough times

CapitaLand Mall Trust says its portfolio of “necessity malls” has proven resilient to the challenging economic and retail period of the last year.

CapitaLand Mall Trust Management (CMTML), the manager of CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT), has reported a distributable income for 2015 of S$392.0 million, up 4.4 per cent on 2014.

Danny Teoh, Chairman of CMTML, said CMT has delivered a good set of financial results in 2015.

“Distribution per unit to unitholders for 2015 increased 3.8 per cent to 11.25 cents, underscoring the underlying strength of our portfolio – made up of predominantly necessity shopping malls connected to or near transportation hubs serving large catchment areas.”

Teoh says the trust reinforced its leadership position as Singapore’s largest real estate investment trust with the acquisition of Bedok Mall on October 1.

“In addition, we unlocked value for unitholders with the sale of Rivervale Mall on December 15, where we recognised a gain of about S$72.7 million. Going forward, CMT’s established track record in proactive mall and asset management will ensure that we remain well-positioned to continually create value for our unitholders.”

Wilson Tan, CEO of CMTML, said tenants’ sales per square foot and shopper traffic increased by 5.3 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively last year.

“Portfolio occupancy remained high, registering 97.6 per cent at December 31.”

Clarke Quay achieved more than 90 per cent committed occupancy for the reconfigured space in Block C. Anchored by Zouk, a world-class dance club, Block C also comprises popular food and beverage (F&B) and entertainment outlets such as DV8 Club, a top notch live Mandopop concert club; Warehouse, a restaurant and bar with live music; Privé Clarke Quay, a new bar concept by lifestyle group Privé Group; Maziga Café & Bollywood Club, an Indian restaurant helmed by the team behind the Punjab Grill; and the highly anticipated Ramen Keisuke Lobster King, the latest offshoot of the well-known ramen chain Ramen Keisuke.

“Singapore’s largest outlet mall IMM Building further enhanced its shopping experience and increased its total number of outlet stores to 85 with new designer brands such as Outlet by Club 21, Juicy Couture and Cole Haan. It also boosted its F&B offerings with additions such as Dôme Café. We will continue to transform our malls through asset enhancement initiatives and reinforce our relevance to the communities that we operate in,” said Tan.

CapitaLand Mall Trust owns 16 shopping malls, strategically located in the suburban areas and downtown core of Singapore, comprise Tampines Mall, Junction 8, Funan DigitaLife Mall, IMM Building, Plaza Singapura, Bugis Junction, Sembawang Shopping Centre, JCube, Raffles City Singapore (40.0% interest), Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, 90 out of 91 strata lots in Bukit Panjang Plaza, The Atrium@Orchard, Clarke Quay, Bugis+, Westgate (30 per cent interest) and Bedok Mall.

CMT also owns 122.7 million units in CapitaLand Retail China Trust, the first China shopping mall REIT listed on SGX-ST in December 2006.

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