Tuesday, July 12, 2011

CMMT announces second income distribution of 2.16 sen

KUALA LUMPUR: CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust (CMMT) announced a second income distribution of 2.16 sen per unit (of which, 2.14 sen per unit is taxable and 0.02 sen per unit is tax exempt) for the period from March 25 to June 30, 2011.

It said on Tuesday, July 11 that it posted net profit RM75.69 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011 on the back of revenue RM57.23 million.

Earnings per share was 5.06 sen while net assets per share was RM1.064.

For the six months ended June 30, CMMT net profit was RM107.13 million on revenue RM109.01 million.

In a statement Tuesday, July 12, CapitaMalls Malaysia REIT Management Sdn Bhd (CMRM), the manager of CMMT the distribution was 8.1% higher than the forecast dividend per unit (DPU) of 1.85 sen for the quarter, adding that the annualised DPU of 8.02 sen was 8.1% above the forecast of 7.42 sen due mainly to savings in financing costs.

It said CMMT achieved distributable income of RM29.8 million and net property income of RM40.8 million for the quarter.

CMRM chairman Kee Teck Koon said it remained optimistic on the outlook for retail sales as these will continue to be underpinned by steady domestic population and tourist arrival growths.

He said Malaysia's population was expected to increase by 7.2% from 27.6 million last year to 29.6 million by 2014, and the annual tourist arrival target had been raised to 25 million and more for 2011 and beyond.

Kee said that since its listing in July 2010, and in line with its stated growth strategy, CMMT had made one acquisition and announced another.

The first was Gurney Plaza Extension, of which the acquisition was completed on March 28, 2011, he said.

He said CMMT's recent acquisition of East Coast Mall in Kuantan would further enhance its income and geographical diversifications.

'When completed, CMMT will have a portfolio of four well-performing malls in the key urban centres of Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Kuantan.

'Our portfolio is well positioned to ride on the projected growth in retail sales in Malaysia, and this will strengthen CMMT's position as the largest 'pure-play' shopping mall REIT in Malaysia,' he said.

Meanwhile, CMRM chief executive officer Sharon Lim said the company saw strong demand for retail space in its malls, as reflected in its nearly-full occupancy rate of 99.1%.

She said the company's performance in the second quarter had proven that its management strategies were effective with the repositioning of The Mines, upgrading of Sungei Wang Plaza and the acquisition of Gurney Plaza Extension.

'Our existing portfolio of three malls has been revalued higher from RM2.37 billion to RM2.43 billion by independent valuers2. The positive revaluation reflects the success of our continuing asset enhancement initiatives in improving shopper experience and drawing increased shopper traffic.

'These help our tenants post higher sales, and enable us to increase our rental income for the benefit of our unitholders. Given the positive outlook and our proactive management, CMMT is well on track to achieve our forecast of 7.46 sen distribution per unit this year,' she said.

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