Shopping mall landlord CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) delivered a better distribution per unit (DPU) for the third quarter, on the back of higher tenants' sales and shopper traffic.

DPU for the three months to Sept 30 surged 9.6 per cent to 2.98 cents, compared with 2.72 cents for the same period a year earlier.

The trust's total distributable income for the third quarter jumped 10.2 per cent to $103.2 million.

Net property income for the quarter inched down 0.7 per cent to $113.3 million, as gross revenue fell 1.8 per cent to $161.7 million.

The slide was mainly owing to lower gross revenue from IMM Building, because of ongoing renovations that began in July last year, and lower occupancy levels at JCube and Clarke Quay, said CMT's manager CapitaLand Mall Trust Management in a statement yesterday.

This was partly offset by higher gross revenue of $600,000 from Bugis Junction after it completed phase two of enhancements in September last year .

Mr Wilson Tan, chief executive of the manager, said: "Portfolio occupancy as at Sept 30 remained high at 96.8 per cent, despite ongoing asset enhancement initiatives and reconfiguration works at some of our malls."

For instance, the manager converted Tampines Mall's fifth-level open roof to an education hub with well-known tenants such as education centres Yamaha Music School and Julia Gabriel Centre.

CMT's average cost of debt was 3.3 per cent and its aggregate leverage ratio was 33.8 per cent, as at Sept 30.

Mr Tan noted that CMT also entered an agreement to sell Rivervale Mall to a private equity fund, managed by AEW Asia, for $190.5 million.

CMT also completed the acquisition of Bedok Mall, acquiring all the units in Brilliance Mall Trust.

Mr Tan said: "As part of an integrated retail-residential-transport hub development, Bedok Mall complements CMT's current portfolio of mainly suburban malls catering to the necessity shopping segment, and strengthens our presence in the eastern part of Singapore."

CMT units closed two cents lower at $2.03 yesterday.