KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 23): Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) saw its first financial quarter ended Mar 31, 2015 (1QFY15) distributable income rise 6.7% on-year to RM62.34 million from RM58.43 million, in tandem with its single digit top line growth.

This translates to a distribution per unit of 2.06 sen per unit compared to 1.94 sen per unit a year ago, its filing to Bursa Malaysia today showed.

Gross revenue for the quarter was RM105.16 million, up 3.9% from 1QFY14’s RM101.21 million.

“The increase was mainly contributed by rental from 2014 asset enhancement areas such as Beauty Precint, extension of ‘Couture Pavilion’ at Level 2 and dining loft at Level 7 as well as the increase in service charge that was revised in May 2014,” said Pavilion REIT (fundamental: 2.8; valuation: 0.0).

Despite expecting weaker consumer sentiment due to the goods and services tax (GST) implementation, weakening ringgit, and inflationary pressures, Pavilion REIT’s manager pledged to continue its effort to attract shoppers, manage its operational cost effectively, and seek investment prospects to ensure achievable return to unitholders.

“Continuous efforts will be employed to fill up office space vacancies, although there are many options available to potential tenants with newer buildings in the market and attractive lower rent to attract occupants,” the REIT said.

Pavilion REIT’s unit rose one sen or 0.64% to RM1.58 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM4.74 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)