3 things to note about the Singapore-listed Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX: J69U), or FCT:
- All of its properties are located in Singapore (and its because of this that this REIT is favoured by Singaporeans as its not exposed to any foreign currency risk);
- Except for 1 property (in Central Plaza, which is an office building), the remaining 9 properties in the REIT’s portfolio are retail properties scattered across the various suburban locations in the city state;
- FCT is the country’s largest prime suburban retail space owner.
A quick update on the latest developments surrounding the REIT – In late-March 2025, FCT have announced the proposed acquisition of a 100% interest in Northpoint City South Wing at an agreed property value of S$1,133 billion (which is a 1.2% discount from the independent valuation of S$1,120 billion by Savills, but a 1.12% premium from the independent valuation of S$1,146 billion by Colliers). The proposed acquisition, assuming it has been completed on 01 October 2023 (start of FY2023/24), will have a DPU-accretion of 2.0% with the issuance of perpetual securities, and 1.6% without.
To fund for the proposed acquisition, FCT has carried out a private placement and preferential offering (where unitholders will be offered 54 preferential offering units for every 1,000 existing units of FCT) exercise, with the former at S$2.09/unit and the latter at S$2.05/unit. Also, ahead of the fund raising exercise, the management have declared a distribution payout of S$0.0615/unit to existing unitholders for the period between 01 October 2024 to 03 April 2025.
An extraordinary general meeting (AGM) will be convened to seek unitholders’ approval on the proposed transaction.
This morning (29 April 2025), FCT released its financial results for the 1st half of the financial year ended 31 March 2025 (i.e., 1H FY2024/25), and in this post, you will find my review of the REIT’s latest financial performance, portfolio occupancy and debt profile, as well as distribution payout to unitholders:
Financial Performance (1H FY2023/24 vs. 1H FY2024/25)
| 1H FY2023/24 | 1H FY2024/25 | % Variance | |
| Gross Revenue (S$’mil) | $172.2m | $184.4m | +7.1% |
| Property Operating Expenses (S$’mil) | $47.6m | $50.7m | +6.5% |
| Net Property Income (S$’mil) | $124.6m | $133.7m | +7.3% |
| Distributable Income to Unitholders (S$’mil) | $104.9m | $110.1m | +5.0% |
FCT reported a robust set of financial results for the 1st half of FY2024/25, with its gross revenue, net property income, and distributable income to unitholders up by mid- to high-single digit percentages.
The 7.1% and 7.3% year-on-year increase in its gross revenue and net property income to S$184.4 million and S$133.7 million respectively was mainly due to the completion of asset enhancement initiative (AEI) works at Tampines 1, but it was partly offset by the absence in contribution from Changi City Point, which was divested in 31 October 2023.
Property operating expenses was up by 6.5% year on year to S$50.7 million from higher marketing, maintenance and utilities expenses.
Portfolio Occupancy Profile (1Q FY2024/25 vs. 2Q FY2024/25)
In the table below, you will find a comparison of FCT’s portfolio occupancy profile for the current quarter under review (i.e., 2Q FY2024/25 ended 31 March 2025) against that reported in the previous quarter (i.e., 1Q FY2024/25 ended 31 December 2024):
| 1Q FY2024/25 | 2Q FY2024/25 | |
| Portfolio Occupancy (%) | 99.5% | 99.5% |
| Portfolio WALE (by NLA – years) | 2.1 years | 2.0 years |
| Portfolio WALE (by Gross Rent – years) | 1.9 years | 1.9 years |
FCT’s portfolio occupancy profile for the current quarter under review is more or less the same compared against that recorded in the previous quarter.
In terms of the occupancy rates of all of its retail properties, they are all maintained at 98.7% or higher (however, Hougang Mall was excluded as its currently undergoing AEI works). The occupancy rate of its sole office property in Central Plaza remained stable at 97.5%.
Rental reversion for new and/or renewed leases for 1H FY2024/25 was at +9.0% (for the individual retail malls, rental reversions range between +5.3% and +13.3%, with rental reversions for Central Plaza at +10.3%), an improvement from +7.7% recorded in 2H FY2024/25.
As far as lease expiries are concerned, they are well-spread out – with 9.6% of leases expiring in the 2nd half of FY2024/25, an average of about 28.2% of leases expiring each year over the next 3 financial years (between FY2025/26 and FY2028/29), with the remaining 5.9% of the leases expiring only in FY2029/30 or later.
Debt Profile (1Q FY2024/25 vs. 2Q FY2024/25)
Similar to how I have reviewed the retail REIT’s portfolio occupancy profile in the previous section, I will also doing a comparison of its debt profile by comparing the stats reported in the current quarter (i.e., 2Q FY2024/25) against that reported in the previous quarter (i.e., 1Q FY2024/25), as follows:
| 1Q FY2024/25 | 2Q FY2024/25 | |
| Aggregate Leverage (%) | 39.3% | 38.6% |
| Interest Coverage Ratio (times) | 3.3x | 3.3x |
| Average Term to Debt Maturity (years) | 3.0 years | 3.0 years |
| Average Cost of Debt (%) | 4.0% | 3.9% |
| % of Borrowings Hedged to Fixed Rates (%) | 65.5% | 75.8% |
FCT’s debt profile statistics also improved compared against the previous quarter – notably, its aggregate leverage went down by 0.7 percentage points (pp) to 38.6%, average cost of debt inching down by 0.1pp to 3.9% (in fact, it has been on a downward decline every quarter since 1Q FY2023/24, when it was at 4.3%, which in my opinion, is a positive). The percentage of borrowings hedged to fixed rates have also spiked by 10.3pp to 75.8%.
The REIT does not have any refinancing obligations in the 2nd half of the current financial year FY2024/25. Over the next 5 years (between FY2025/26 and FY2029/30), it has an average of about 19.2% of borrowings due for refinancing each year, with the remaining 3.8% of borrowings due for refinancing only in FY2031/32 – which I consider to be very well-staggered out.
Distribution Payout to Unitholders (1H FY2023/24 vs. 1H FY2024/25)
The management of FCT declares a distribution payout to the unitholders on a half-yearly basis.
In the table below, you’ll find the distribution payout declared for the 1st half of FY2024/25 (for the period between 01 October 2024 and 31 March 2025), compared against its distribution payout declared a year ago (i.e., the 1st half of FY2023/24, for the period between 01 October 2023 and 31 March 2024):
| 1H FY2023/24 | 1H FY2024/25 | % Variance | |
| Distribution Per Unit (S$’cents) | 6.022 cents | 6.054 cents | +0.5% |
Distribution payout for 1H FY2024/25 have already gone ex-distribution on 02 April 2025, following the announcement of a preferential offering exercise to fund for the acquisition of Northpoint City South Wing (where a total payout of 6.15 cents/unit was declared, which covered the entire period of 1H FY2024/25, as well as a few days into 2H FY2024/25, up to 03 April 2025 – the REIT’s next distribution payout for 2H FY2024/25 will then cover the period between 04 April and 30 September 2025)
Unitholders who remained as unitholders of FCT till 02 April will receive the distribution payout on 30 May 2025.
CEO Mr Richard Ng’s Comments & Outlook (from the REIT’s Press Release)
“FCT’s portfolio has delivered robust results for 1H25 with strong performance on both operational and financial fronts. Our operating indicators are healthy with good momentum on rental reversions achieved, encouraging tenants’ sales and stable occupancy across all our malls.
On 25 March 2025, we announced the proposed acquisition of a 100% interest in Northpoint City South Wing. The $1.17 billion proposed acquisition is a strategic progress for FCT as it strengthens FCT’s position as Singapore’s leading prime suburban retail space owner and further enhances the quality of FCT’s retail portfolio. Through a successful private placement and preferential offering, we raised about $421.3 million. This will fuel our next phase of growth.
Looking ahead, healthy population growth from new home builds over the near to mid-term in the vicinity of our malls, coupled with rising household incomes and supportive government measures such as the Progressive Wage Model and disbursement schemes, will continue to drive tenant sales and hence, growth for FCT. We will continue to focus on delivering sustainable value to our unitholders through strategic acquisitions, proactive capital management and optimised asset performance to enhance the value of our portfolio.”
Closing Thoughts
In my opinion, it was a very good set of report card by FCT.
Its key financial figures for 1H FY2024/25 (i.e., gross revenue, net property income, and distributable income to unitholders) saw a mid- to high-single digit percentage rise, contributed by Tampines 1 following the completion of asset enhancement initiative works.
Portfolio occupancy for the REIT’s retail malls were very strong, where they were all at least 98.7% occupied, and its office property having an occupancy rate of 97.5% This was on top of positive rental reversions being achieved for new and/or renewed leases for the 1st half of FY2024/25 for both its retail and office properties.
Debt profile also improved compared to the previous quarter – with its aggregate leverage of 39.3% a very healthy headroom to the regulatory limit of 50%. Debt maturity was also very well-staggered out – particularly, it has no refinancing obligations for the 2nd half of FY2024/25.
With that, I have come to the end of my review of FCT’s latest results for the 1st half of FY2024/25 ended 31 March. While I hope you have benefitted from the contents presented within, do take note that all the opinions you find in this post are purely mine which I’m sharing the educational purposes only. They do not constitute any buy or sell calls for the REIT’s units. You should always do your own due diligence before you make any investment decisions.
Related Documents
Disclaimer: At the time of writing, I am a unitholder of Frasers Centrepoint Trust
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