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OUE H-Trust’s Q4 distributable income up 7.5%

SINGAPORE — OUE Hospitality Trust (OUE H-Trust), a stapled group comprising OUE Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust (OUE H-REIT) and OUE Hospitality Business Trust (OUE H-BT), said today (Jan 27) that fourth quarter distributable income rose 7.5 per cent from the corresponding period a year earlier despite the weakening tourism sector.

Distributable income for the October-to-December period amounted to S$23.6 million, up from S$21.9 million in the same quarter last year, lifting distribution per stapled security by 6.6 per cent to 1.78 cents, OUE H-Trust said. Gross revenue rose 4.8 per cent to S$30.4 million and net property income increased 5.5 per cent to S$27 million.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong, chief executive of the trust manager, said: “Mandarin Orchard Singapore has performed well in 4Q 2014 despite a challenging environment with new supply of hotel rooms and lower visitor arrivals. Mandarin Orchard posted a higher revenue per available room of S$255 in 4Q 2014 compared to S$249 in 4Q 2013. This was achieved on both higher occupancy and room rates.”

He added: “Mandarin Gallery continues to add to the income stability of the OUE H-Trust as it enjoys a high occupancy of 98.2 per cent. Its average rental per square foot per month for 4Q 2014 is S$23.60 compared to S$23.10 in 4Q 2013.”

OUE H-Trust’s full-year distribution per stapled security of 6.74 cents translates to a distribution yield of 7.66 per cent based on the initial public offering price of 88 cents or 7.45 per cent based on the closing price on 31 December 2014 of 90.5 cents per stapled security.

OUE H-REIT’s asset portfolio, comprising the 1,077-room Mandarin Orchard Singapore and the adjoining Mandarin Gallery, has a portfolio value of S$1.76 billion as of Dec 31. OUE H-BT is dormant. OUE H-BT is dormant.

For the first 11 months of last year, visitor arrivals totalled 13.72 million, down 3.4 per cent from the first 11 months of 2013, Singapore Tourism Board data showed.

Looking ahead, OUE H-Trust warned that the outlook for the hospitality sector remained challenging.

“With the continued uncertain global economic outlook and the recent unfortunate aviation incidents in the region that have affected tourism sentiment, coupled with the lack of major convention events such as the Singapore Airshow, visitor arrivals in 2015 could remain soft,” it said.

However, the SG50 celebrations and the Southeast Asian Games could provide a much needed boost.

“In 2015, Singapore is celebrating its golden jubilee, SG50, with a slew of activities throughout the year. The SG50 celebration programme has garnered international attention and Singapore has been named the top destination in Asia for 2015 by the New York Times and the top country to visit in 2015 by Lonely Planet. Singapore is also hosting the 2015 Southeast Asian Games and the World Rugby Sevens. These factors would impact the performance of the hospitality industry,” it said.

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