Sentral REIT 1Q NPI declines 2.9% to RM30.51m

KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): Sentral Real Estate Investment Trust (Sentral REIT)’s net property income (NPI) in the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (1QFY22) dropped by 2.9% to RM30.51 million from RM31.41 million in the same period last year.

Earnings per unit fell to 1.90 sen from 1.93 sen previously, its Bursa Malaysia filing showed on Thursday (May 12).

Net distribution income also declined by 1.6% to RM20.36 million compared to RM20.7 million due to lower realised revenue net of lower property expenses and finance costs.

The REIT, which was previously known as MRCB-Quill REIT, said its quarterly revenue fell by 5.51% to RM38.76 million from RM41.02 million, underpinned by lower contributions from Wisma Technip, Menara Shell and QB3-BMW.

Sentral REIT Management Sdn Bhd (SRM) (the manager of Sentral REIT) chairman Tan Sri Saw Choo Boon said it remains optimistic that the REIT’s operation will be able to weather these market uncertainties over time.

“The gradual move to the endemic phase is expected to augur well for the Klang Valley office market.

“We will continue to focus on tenant retention to maintain a stable occupancy and healthy weighted average lease expiry for Sentral’s asset portfolio,” he said.

Meanwhile SRM chief executive officer Derek Teh Wan Wei shared that in terms of capital management, Sentral REIT had successfully refinanced its RM130 million debt due in March 2022.

He also highlighted that it had also initiated early refinancing of Sentral REIT’s RM77 million term loan which is due in September 2023.

“The completion of the above refinancing exercises has extended Sentral REIT’s debt average term to maturity from 3.16 years to 4.05 years. This addresses all of Sentral REIT’s refinancing needs until 2025,” he said. 

At noon break, Sentral REIT closed five sen or 0.52% higher to 96.5 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.03 billion. 

Edited by Surin Murugiah

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