The manager of BHG Retail REIT has reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.22 cents for the 1HFY2025 ended June 30, down from the 0.25 cents declared in the same period a year ago.

The REIT says that this is due to $100,000 that is available for distribution being retained for operational expenses and working capital requirements.

The REIT reported a gross revenue of $28.1 million for the 1HFY2025, 10.4% y-o-y. This is due to the weakening of the Chinese renminbi against the Singapore dollar, lower occupancy rates and rental support provided to Dalian and Xining.

As such, net property income declined by 16.1% y-o-y lower to $15 million.

As at June 30, the REIT’s portfolio occupancy rate stood at 95.1%, and weighted average lease expiry at 2.7 years by gross rental income and 4.4 years by net lettable area.

As at June 30, the REIT has 80% of borrowings denominated in Singapore dollars. It has total assets worth $871 million and net assets worth $495.4 million as at end June.

The REIT’s aggregated borrowings drawn down as at June 30 stood at $296.8 million, and gearing ratio stood at 41.7%. Average cost of debt stood at 4.8% and interest coverage ratio stood at 1.8 times as at end June.

Units in BHG Retail REIT closed 0.5 cents lower or 1.163% down at 42.5 cents on Aug 7.