CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) had net property income of S$479.9 million (US$336.9 million) last year.
This is a 2.9 per cent increase over the S$466.2 million for 2015, CapitaLand Mall Trust Management (CMTML), the manager of CMT, has announced.
CMTML chairman Richard Magnus says the 1.8 per cent growth in Singapore’s economy last year was its slowest since the global financial crisis in 2009.
“Against this challenging backdrop, CMT’s performance has remained resilient, underpinned by its well- located portfolio of malls catering predominantly to necessity shopping, scale and strong retailer network.
“To ensure CMT’s malls stay attractive to tenants and shoppers, we have been harnessing technological innovations to serve them better and more efficiently. These include continual improvements to our loyalty programs and operations, as well as asset-enhancement initiatives.”
CMTML CEO Wilson Tan says CMT has delivered steady results amid the challenges of the softening economic conditions and ongoing business restructuring. At the end of December the group’s malls had an occupancy rate of 98.5 per cent. Shopper traffic increased 2.3 per cent year-on-year.
In the latest quarter, the Plaza Singapura and Tampines Mall were upgraded. Plaza Singapura now has a refurbished interior with brighter corridor lighting, new nursing rooms, refreshed lift lobbies and escalator landings, as well as a new shoppers’ lounge. Similarly, the interior of Tampines Mall and its Garden Plaza have been upgraded.
“Ongoing efforts to refresh the tenant mix at Clarke Quay are progressing well,” says Tan. “New tenants added in recent months include Red House, Red Tail, VLV and Zouk.
“Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on the interior rejuvenation works at Raffles City Singapore and the development of a live-work-play paradigm in Funan.”
During the year, CMT recorded S$689.7 million and S$479.7 million in gross revenue and net property income respectively, a growth of 3.1 and 2.9 per cent over 2015.
The increase is mainly credited to the acquisition of Bedok Mall in October 2015, and higher rental achieved for IMM Building, Tampines Mall and Bukit Panjang Plaza after asset-enhancement works. This was offset by lower gross revenue from Funan, as the mall closed for redevelopment, and divestment of Rivervale Mall in December 2015.
