CapitaMalls confident of meeting payout target

KUALA LUMPUR:CapitaMalls Malaysia REIT Management Sdn Bhd (CMRM), the manager of CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust (CMMT), is confident of achieving its target of 7.45 sen distribution per unit (DPU) amid the positive microeconomic outlook for Malaysia this year.

CMMT, a shopping mall real estate investment trust (REIT), recorded a total annualised DPU of 7.26 sen for last year, exceeding its forecast of 7.16 sen as stated in its listing prospectus.

CMRM chief executive officer Sharon Lim said the company’s strong operating performance demonstrated its ability to proactively manage its assets and create value for unitholders.

“Ours malls maintained close to full occupancy (98.3 per cent), while shopper traffic grew to 16.2 per cent (13.1 million) in the fourth quarter ended December last year compared to the year before (11.3 million).

“We also expect to complete our proposed acquisition of Gurney Plaza extension by this year,” she told reporters during a briefing on the company’s fourth quarter results here yesterday. Sharon said CapitaMalls Asia’s recent acquisition of Queensbay Mall in Penang would form the seed asset for its planned RM1bil Malaysia retail property fund, which would provide a pipeline of assets for CMMT to acquire.

“CMMT will continue to actively pursue acquisition opportunities on its own, to increase its asset size and strengthen its position as Malaysia’s largest ‘pure-play’ shopping mall REIT,” she said.

For the fourth quarter of 2010, CMMT achieved a distributable income of RM24.8mil which was 3.1% higher than its forecast of RM24.1mil while DPU was recorded at 1.84 sen, 3.4 per cent higher than its forecast of 1.78 sen.

CMRM chairman Kee Teck Koon said: “With our quality portfolio of three strategically located shopping malls in the higher growth urban centres of Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, CMMT is well positioned to capitalise on the expansion in Malaysia’s retail sector.”

By Bernama