Sunway REIT aims to sustain distributable income for FY13

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 8): Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd expects to sustain the distributable income for financial year 2013 despite the loss of income contribution from Sunway Putra Mall.

For financial year ended June 30, 2012, (FY12) the distributable income rose 14.4% to RM201.97 million.

"The closure of Sunway Putra Mall due to major refurbishment will be cushioned by healthy growth from our retail and hotel assets as well as interest savings from the capital management programme," chief executive officer Datuk Jeffrey Ng told reporters here on Wednesday.

He said the management is committed to distribute 100% of its distributable net income for this financial year.

For FY12, Sunway REIT distributed 7.5 sen in dividend per unit compared with 6.58 sen in the last financial year.

Ng also said the management expects retail sales to remain buoyant for the rest of the year supported by traditional strong retail and tourism related activities in the Klang Valley.

"In maintaining Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall's position as Malaysia's most favourite mall, the asset manager will continue to introduce fresh attractions, higher standards of customer service and aggressive marketing promotions," he added.

He said the strong business performance in the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa and Pyramid Tower Hotel were underpinned by Sunway Resort City (SRC)'s strategic location in Klang Valley and the vibrancy of the township.

The meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibition (MICE) business as well as rooms demand from corporate are expected to further drive the business performance of the hotels, Ng added.

In the office segment, Sunway REIT expects the sector to remain challenging due to the oversupply situation coupled with a softer economic climate.

He said Menara Sunway experienced a slight drop in average occupancy for FY12 from 99.7% in the preceding year to 98.5% while the average occupancy rate at Sunway Tower dropped to 93.5% from 97% in the preceding year. — Bernama