CMMT distribution per unit up 6.2% in 4Q 2013

As net property income climbed 10.8%.

CapitaMalls Malaysia REIT Management Sdn. Bhd. (CMRM), the manager of CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust (CMMT), is pleased to announce that CMMT achieved a distribution per unit (“DPU”) of 2.24 sen for the quarter ended 31 December 2013 (4Q 2013), 6.2% higher than the 2.11 sen for the same quarter last year (4Q 2012).

For 4Q 2013, CMMT posted net property income (NPI) of RM54.8 million, a 10.8% increaseover the RM49.5 million for 4Q 2012. The better performance was partly due to the completion of Phase 1 asset enhancement works at East Coast Mall in Kuantan, CMMT said.

For the financial year from 1 January to 31 December 2013 (FY 2013), CMMT recorded DPU of 8.85 sen, 4.9% higher than the DPU of 8.44 sen for financial year 2012 (FY 2012).

Unitholders can expect to receive the total DPU of 4.50 sen per unit for the period from 1 July 2013 to 31 December 2013 on 7 March 2014. The total DPU of 8.85 sen for FY 2013 translates to an annualised distribution yield of 6.5% based on CMMT’s closing price of RM1.36 per unit on 22 January 2014. The book closure date is 10 February 2014.

Mr David Wong Chin Huat, Chairman of CMRM, said, “CMMT has continued to perform well in2013. Our strong performance was underpinned by our proactive asset enhancement initiatives, which ensure that our malls continue to be attractive to shoppers and this, in turn, generates higher sales for our tenants."

“Looking ahead to this year, Malaysia’s economy is expected to grow by 5.0% to 5.5% while retail sales are estimated to increase by 6.0%. This growth will be backed by strong domestic fundamentals including low unemployment, rising household income and sustained consumer confidence."

"As a retail-focused real estate investment trust with four quality malls in key urban centres, we are well-positioned to tap on this growth. Though there will be ongoing cost pressures, such as increases in electricity tariffs and property assessment fees in Kuala Lumpur, we are confident that with Malaysia’s strong overall macroeconomic fundamentals, growth prospects and attractive demographics, CMMT has the competitive strengths to continue to deliver a sustainable distribution of income for unitholders.”

Ms Sharon Lim, CEO of CMRM, said, “Our malls continued to have strong appeal to both shoppers and retailers in 2013, with the occupancy rate increasing slightly to 99.0% as at end December 2013.”

“We continued to enhance the attractiveness of our malls in 2013 through the completion of a series of upgrading and refurbishment works at Sungei Wang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur and the conversion of some car park bays on the third floor of East Coast Mall in Kuantan into retail space.”

“For 2014, we will embark on the next phase of asset enhancement works at East Coast Mall to further improve the retail mix, the visibility of retailers to shoppers as well as the flow within the mall. We will also continue to proactively look for opportunities to enhance the other malls in our portfolio, to further increase unitholder value.”