Bolstered by the performance of Alexandra Technopark and its Australian property 357 Collins Street, Frasers Commercial Trust reported on 22 July that its distribution per unit (DPU) for 3Q 2016 has risen by 2.6% to 2.41 Singapore cents.

Gross revenue and net property income for the period increased by 11.1% and 15.6% year-on-year to SGD38.6 million and SGD28.1 million respectively while distribution to unitholders saw a boost of 18.6% to SGD19.0 million.

“Our focus on proactive asset management and leasing initiatives has yielded positive results”, said Low Chee Wah, CEO of the REIT’s manager, in a statement on the results.

“During the quarter, we have reduced the lease expiries to 1.5% for the remaining financial year despite the challenging leasing environment in the Singapore office market, compared to 6.4% in the previous quarter”, he added.

The Singapore-listed office REIT’s average portfolio occupancy rate as at 30 June 2016 was 93.3%, with occupancy rates of the properties in Singapore and Australia at 93.2% and 93.4% respectively.

Frasers Commercial Trust’s gearing for the period was at 36.3% with a weighted average debt maturity of 2.6 years.

“Amidst the weaker economic environment and the Singapore office market, we will continue to focus on maintaining healthy occupancy rates through our proactive leasing efforts while pursuing strategies to generate long-term and sustainable distributions for our unitholders”, said Low on plans for the quarters ahead.

The distribution for 3Q 2016 will be paid out on 29 August 2016 and the distribution books closure date for the units is 1 August 2016.

Units of Frasers Commercial Trust finished the trading day flat from its previous close on the Singapore Exchange to end at SGD1.345.