KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 24): CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust (CMMT) net property income fell 4.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2019 (3QFY19) to RM49.2 million from RM51.74 million in 3QFY18, as revenue fell with lower rental and car park incomes while expenses climbed.

Revenue came in 2.8% lower at RM83.72 million versus RM86.15million a year ago as gross rental income slipped 0.8% to RM65.74 million and car park income fell 15.4% to RM5.4 million, its stock exchange filing showed. Other revenue also fell 6.6% to RM12.59 million.

"The [revenue] decrease was mainly due to lower occupancies at The Mines (TM) and Sungei Wang (SW) and lower rental rates at TM. The decrease was partially mitigated by better performance from Gurney Plaza (GP) and East Coast Mall (ECM) due to higher rental rates and higher rental income following the completion of the asset enhancement initiative (AEI) at ECM. AEI for Jumpa at Sungei Wang was completed and soft opened on 25 September 2019," CMMT said.

Property operating expenses grew 0.3% to RM34.53 million during the quarter, mainly due to higher utilities at GP and ECM as a result of higher electricity surcharge with effect from March 1 this year, and higher consumption.

The trust, which also owns the 3 Damansara & Tropicana City Office Tower, declared an income distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.51 sen for the quarter under review, about 20.52% less than the 1.9 sen it paid in 3QFY18.

"Overall, distributable income to unitholders for 3QFY19 was RM31 million, a decrease of RM7.8 million or 20.2% against 3QFY18 due to abovementioned factors and lower tax and other adjustments," it said.

For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2019, the REIT’s NPI shrank 6.1% to RM152.28 million from RM161.14 million in the same period last year while revenue retreated 2.57% to RM256.47 million from RM263.24 million.

In a statement, CapitaLand Malaysia Mall REIT Management Sdn Bhd (CMRM) chief executive officer (CEO) Low Peck Chen said improvements in NPI for Gurney Plaza and East Coast Mall have helped to moderate lower contributions from its Klang Valley malls.

On the Sungei Wang’s newly refurbished annex block JUMPA — which opened its doors to shoppers on Sept 25 — Low said this will contribute progressively to the portfolio’s NPI from the fourth quarter of FY19.

CMMT’s unit price fell one sen or 0.95% to RM1.04 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.13 billion.