Mr Viral
CQ @ Clarke Quay is part of the CICT portfolio (Image: CapitaLand)
CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust saw its net property income grow to S$1.15 billion ($850 million) in 2024, up 3.4 percent from the previous year, as strong tourism in Singapore and limited supply of retail space bode well for the REIT’s retail portfolio.
Earnings from the SGX-listed trust’s 12 shopping centres, excluding mixed-use projects, hit S$420.1 million last year, a 6 percent increase from 2023. This offset a 0.8 percent decline in income from its office holdings, while CICT’s large scale mixed-use properties earned 5 percent more than a year earlier.
With the trust, which holds Singapore landmarks such as Raffles City, as properties in Europe and Australia, having leased over 1.8 million square feet (167,225 square metres) of space in 2024, including new deals and renewals, Tony Tan, CEO of the trust’s manager, said that CICT’s leasing team was able to achieve rent increases in both office and retail segments last year despite market challenges.
“CICT achieved commendable results in the FY 2024, leveraging our strong portfolio management to navigate headwinds from a high-cost environment and capture demand in the retail and office sectors,” Tan said. “We will continue to prioritise leasing initiatives to retain tenants and attract new ones.”
Leased and Occupied
Managed by a unit of Temasek Holdings-controlled CapitaLand Investment, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust’s 27-asset portfolio yielded gross revenue of S$1.59 billion in 2024, which was up 1.7 percent from the previous year.
Tony Tan, chief executive of CICT’s manager
That uptick was achieved despite the absence of income from Galileo, an office block in Frankfurt, Germany which has been undergoing upgrades since February 2024, and the S$688 million divestment of 21 Collyer Quay office tower in November.
The REIT earned distributable income of S$752.2 million for the year, up 5.1 percent from 2023, which the manager attributed to improved performance of its existing operating properties and prudent cost management.
Committed occupancy in the portfolio reached 96.7 percent for the year, with the retail segment boosting tenancy to 99.3 percent from 98.5 percent last year.
The trust’s office properties – which comprise 34.7 percent of its portfolio by value – saw occupancy decline 1.9 percentage points to 94.8 percent, which the trust’s manager linked to a weak leasing market in Germany. As of 31 December 2024, the trust has nine pure office assets, five of which are in Singapore, two in Germany and two in Australia.
Occupancy for its integrated developments, properties which combine office and retail, like Raffles City, or office and residential like CapitaSpring, or retail and hospitality like Funan, increased by 0.4 percentage points to 98.9 percent.
The REIT said its retail segment, which accounts for 36 percent of its portfolio by asset value, benefitted from an 8.7 percent increase in shopper traffic during the year, driven by strong tourism in Singapore. International visitors to Singapore reached 16.53 million in 2024, up by 21.5 percent from 2023.
Singapore Retail Renaissance
In Singapore, which makes up 94.5 percent of CICT’s portfolio by value, retail properties are showing signs of recovery, with prime retail rents increasing by 3.6 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to CBRE.
With new retail supply expected to stay below historical averages in the coming years, the property consultancy predicts that prime retail rents in the country will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2025.
CICT could be positioned to leverage a retail upturn as the REIT plans to complete Phase 3 of improvements in IMM Mall – Singapore’s largest outlet centre – in the third quarter.
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