For the full year, DPU was 4.6 per cent lower year on year at S$0.06249, mainly led by a 7 per cent depreciation of the renminbi to the Singapore dollar, as well as increases in finance costs and tax expenses. Distributable income fell 5.8 per cent to S$83.4 million on the year.
The manager noted that excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, FY2023 DPU would have been higher by 4.1 per cent year on year at S$0.06822.
The aggregate sales of the Reit’s four outlets in FY2023 increased 31.9 per cent year on year, leading full-year EMA rental income to rise 10.7 per cent to 658.5 million yuan.
Cecilia Tan, chief executive of the manager, highlighted the resilience of the Reit’s outlet business with strong sales numbers amid economic uncertainties in China.
“The valuation of the Reit’s portfolio has stayed relatively unchanged as at end-2023 from a year ago, reflecting the strong underlying fundamentals of the outlets,” she said. The total valuation of the four China outlets owned by the Reit stood at about 8.5 billion yuan as at end-December.
As at Dec 31, 2023, Sasseur Reit’s aggregate leverage stood at 25.3 per cent, and its interest coverage ratio remained at 4.3 times. About 87 per cent of its total borrowings are hedged to fixed interest rates or pegged to stable/fixed interest rates, with a weighted average debt to maturity of 2.9 years.
The manager also noted that the lower five-year loan prime rate in China helped to cushion the Reit’s debt cost, with about 53 per cent of its total loans denominated in renminbi.
Units of Sasseur Reit closed Tuesday up 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 at S$0.68.
