Hong Kong-based Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) has seen a dip in its earnings off the back of a challenged retail property market.

Seeing its overall revenue decline by 2 per cent, to HK$13.9 billion (US$1.7 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 31, has led the company’s leadership to promise “reinvigorating” its business.

“We have been listening carefully and reflecting on the views of our unitholders and other stakeholders. Our response has been to go back to basics with a focus on our key competitive advantages as owners and operators of retail malls and car parks in Apac,” said Duncan Owen, Link’s chair.

“Our immediate focus is now reinvigorating the existing core portfolio, divesting of non-core assets and buying back units where pricing is attractive to drive unitholder returns.”

The company said that Hong Kong’s retail sector is beginning to show signs of recovery, but it has called the rebound “uneven”, citing competition from Chinese e-commerce companies, leading to a decline in sales among its tenants.

At the end of the year, Link REIT reported a strong retail occupancy rate in its properties, at 97.8 per cent. It added that it signed 587 new leases over the year.

“Since taking up the leadership of Link on January 1, [CFO] Ng Kok Siong and I have refocused the strategy on going back to basics,” John Saunders, executive director and chief investment officer, said.

“This means ensuring that our malls continue to meet the needs of the communities that they serve, and we have a number of initiatives aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of our core retail and car park assets and responding to structural changes, including e-commerce.”

The company said that, by segment, food and beverage sales grew 1.2 per cent year-on-year, while supermarket sales fell by 0.5 per cent. General retail sales saw the sharpest decline, at 3.6 per cent.