Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Suntec REIT) has announced that its distribution per unit (DPU) for the first quarter dropped 13.9 percent to 2.51 cents from last year’s 2.92 cents.
Distributable income for the quarter that ended March 31 fell 2.1 percent to S$45.37 million on-year, while property income also dipped 2.7 percent to S$47.8 million from S$49.2 million in the same quarter on the previous year.
Suntec REIT added that its gross revenue also dropped 3.8 percent to S$62.5 million in Q1.
The company attributed the decline in revenue to the office and retail revenue recorded during the first three months. Gross revenue from its office segment also fell 2.9 percent to S$29.3 million on the back of lower revenue from its office space in Suntec City.
Lower revenues from retail space in Suntec City Mall also caused its gross retail revenue to drop 4.6 percent to S$33.1 million.
Looking forward, Suntec REIT expects continuing challenges in both the retail and office sectors. However, given the current economic recovery trend, the REIT manager said it remains cautiously optimistic of its prospects this year.