Mall acquisitions in Japan, plus the exceptional performance of the Mallage Shobu shopping centre, helped Singapore’s Croesus Retail Trust achieve a 30.7 per cent revenue rise for its second quarter.

The trust, which owns malls in Japan, says revenue for the three months to December 31 reached ¥3.18 billion (S$39.7 million/US$28 million).

It attributes this to improved tenant sales in Mallage Shobu in the Saitama prefecture. It had higher variable rent, plus there was compensation from a tenant for early termination.

There were also mall acquisitions last year, including Feeeal Asahikawa in Hokkaido and Fuji Grand Natalie in Hiroshima. This boosted net property income by 23.2 per cent from the same quarter last year to ¥1.69 billion.

Croesus Retail Trust CEO/executive director Jim Chang says it is evaluating tenant-renewal exercises and asset-enhancement initiatives. A tenant-replacement exercise has been started at Feeeal Asahikawa.

“In terms of outlook, we remain cautiously optimistic of Japan’s economic recovery,” says MD/executive director Jeremy Yong. “Though the effects of stimulus policies are still a work-in-progress, we believe the outcome will be favourable on the back of unwavering commitment from the Japanese government and its central bank to attain sustainable growth for the country’s economy.”