LIPPO Malls Indonesia Retail Trust : D5IU 0% (LMIRT) on Friday (Apr 26) posted a 3.1 per cent decline in net property income to S$29.9 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, from S$30.8 million in the corresponding year-ago period.

Net property income dropped due to higher property operating and maintenance expenses, as well as lower net reversal for impairment loss on trade receivables, said the trust’s manager in a media release accompanying the results.

Gross revenue for the three months inched up 0.7 per cent to S$49.2 million, from S$48.9 million year on year. This was attributed to higher revenue from its carpark, and service charge and utilities recovery segments.

Meanwhile, rental revenue for the quarter fell 0.9 per cent to S$27.5 million, from S$27.8 million. The drop was largely due to a 2.1 per cent depreciation in the Indonesian rupiah against the Singapore dollar, the manager said.

In Indonesia rupiah terms, rental revenue edged up 1.2 per cent to 321 billion rupiah, compared to 317.1 billion rupiah in Q1 FY2023.

No distribution was declared for the quarter.

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The trust had previously announced it had ceased distributions to the holders of its S$140 million and S$120 million perpetual securities in a bid to conserve cash.

In Friday’s release, the manager said it will focus on addressing its other maturing debt obligations in the next 12 months, particularly the outstanding 2024 notes, and continues to be in active discussions with banks to explore potential liability management alternatives.

“Pending a clear resolution on its debt obligations maturing in 2024 and potentially in 2026, as well as achieving a sustainable capital structure, the trust will continue to exercise prudence regarding any distributions to be made to both unitholders and holders of the perpetual securities,” it said.

The average portfolio occupancy for the quarter edged up to 79.5 per cent from 79 per cent as at Dec 31, 2023. This was due to the trust securing new leases for 19,140 square metres and renewing 61.8 per cent of its expiring leases.

Shopper traffic for the three months has also rebounded to around 75.4 per cent of pre-Covid levels in 2019. There was also a year-on-year improvement of 10.7 per cent over Q1 FY2023.

James Liew, the manager’s chief executive, said: “We have earmarked a total of nine properties for refurbishment works over the next two years.

“While the positive effects of these initiatives will require time, we aim to attract an interesting mix of tenants from various sectors to offer shoppers a holistic and enriching experience.”

Units of LMIRT closed flat at S$0.012 on Friday, before the announcement.