[SINGAPORE] Sasseur real estate investment trust’s (Reit) rental income under its entrusted management agreement (EMA) model for the first quarter ended March rose 1.6 per cent year on year to 175.4 million yuan (S$32.5 million), from 172.6 million yuan.
However, rental income was 0.2 per cent lower in Singapore dollar, mainly due to depreciation of yuan against Singapore dollars, the Reit manager said on Thursday (May 15).
The moderate rise in rental income under EMA model in yuan was mainly due to a 3 per cent rise in fixed component income to 118.7 million yuan from 115.2 million yuan in the previous corresponding period. This was offset by a slight dip of 1.2 per cent fall in variable component income year on year to 56.7 million yuan, from 57.4 million yuan, which was in line with the 0.9 per cent fall in outlet sales.
The Reit recorded “resilient growth” in Q1 as the China government pushed forward with efforts to stimulate local consumption.
On Mar 16, the State Council outlined a plan to boost domestic consumption and make it the primary driver of economic growth.
“Economists are optimistic that China’s strong domestic consumption potential can help mitigate the negative impacts of tariff hikes,” they said.
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As at Mar 31, 2025, the Reit’s aggregate leverage stood at 25.9 per cent, slightly higher from 24.8 per cent as at the end of 2024. Interest coverage ratop was 4.7 times, compared with 4.6 times as at last December.
Weighted average cost of debt per year stood at 5 per cent as at Mar 31, 2025, down from 5.3 per cent at the end of 2024.
In terms of debt maturities, the Reit had an improved average debt maturity of three years as at Mar 2025. This is due to an undrawn revolving credit facility of S$10 million, which is available to meet future obligations, the manager said.
Sizeable debt headroom had also decreased to S$815.7 million, from S$895.3 million as at the end of the previous year.
For portfolio occupancy rate, Sasseur Reit maintained a stable high rate of 98.9 per cent, the same from the year ago period. This was partially driven by higher occupancy at the Chongqing Bishan outlet, where occupancy inched up 0.1 per cent to 97.1 per cent due to effective leasing strategy and a record high occupancy in the Kunming outlet, where it reached 99.8 per cent occupancy following successful asset enhancement in 2024.
However, the Reit’s portfolio sales has declined slightly by 0.9 per cent to 11 million yuan, primarily due to weaker performance at the Hefei and Kunming outlets, but was partially offset by stronger sales at the Chongqing Liangjiang outlet, which was driven by a broader range of new product offerings, the manager added.
For the first two months of the year, portfolio sales rose 1.2 per cent year on year, due to strong consumer demand during Chinese New Year promotional events. However, sales softened across all outlets in March 2025 due to cautious “post-festive consumer spending”.
Units of Sasseur Reit closed 1.59 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$0.64 on Wednesday.
