CDL Hospitality Trusts’ Q2 income down 4.7%

SINGAPORE - CDL Hospitality Trusts reported on Friday a 4.7 per cent drop in net income for the second quarter to S$22.6 million, as lower rent contributions from its properties in Singapore and Australia hurt the bottom line.

Distributable income for the quarter fell by 7.7 per cent to S$24.4 million, working out to 2.5 cents per stapled security, down from 2.72 cents in the corresponding period a year ago. CDL Hospitality Trusts said the operating environment in Singapore for the first half of this year was challenging - hurt by a drop in tourist arrivals from China, the Republic’s second largest inbound market.

CDL Hospitality Trusts own six hotels in Singapore, including Orchard Hotel and the Grand Copthorne. However, it is keeping positive on the outlook for the rest of the year, saying that it is seeing signs of improvement in the current quarter.

“We do expect that there should be some improvement over the next few months,” said Mr Vincent Yeo, CEO REIT Management, CDL Hospitality Trusts.

“The declines have just been so sharp - this is clearly an aftermath of the backlash of the MH370 incident … We do see more activity in the third quarter and our forward bookings are more encouraging for the third quarter.” - CHANNEL NEWSASIA