KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — CapitaLand Malaysia Trust’s (CLMT) net loss narrowed to RM30.93 million in the financial year ended December 31, 2021 (FY2021) from RM84.50 million a year ago.
Revenue fell 14.3 per cent to RM224.11 million from RM261.34 million previously, due to lower gross rental income, lower car park income, lower recovery of utilities and lower marketing communications income, the company said in a Bursa Malaysia filing today.
Property operating expenses for FY2021 were RM121.0 million, a decrease of RM6.9 million, or 5.4 per cent from a year ago due to lower utilities and marketing expenses.
Utilities consumption was lower due to the various lockdowns, with a 10 per cent electricity discount for the entire FY2021 versus only six months in FY2020. Marketing expenses were also lower due to less mall activities and cost containment efforts, CLMT said.
Net property income (NPI) for FY2021 was RM103.1 million, RM30.4 million lower than a year ago, a drop of 22.7 per cent.
It has proposed a final income distribution of RM20.9 million, or 0.98 sen per unit (of which 0.26 sen per unit is taxable and 0.72 sen per unit is non-taxable), based on 2.13 billion units in issue from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
The manager expects the retail operating environment to remain challenging, given the current market conditions and ongoing global uncertainties arising from the pandemic, despite Malaysia’s inoculation progress.
“The manager will continue to work closely with tenants and stakeholders in navigating the pandemic challenges.
“CLMT’s focus remains to maintain a healthy portfolio occupancy and sustainable rental income, whilst pursuing inorganic growth opportunities in its existing and new asset classes, Bernama with financial discipline,” it added. — Bernama