SINGAPORE - Sasseur Reit on Tuesday posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.608 cents for its second quarter ended June 30, 1.3 per cent higher than the DPU of 1.587 cents for March 28 to June 30, 2018.

The Reit (real estate investment trust) - which listed on March 28, 2018 - posted distributable income of $19.2 million, 2.3 per cent above the $18.8 million for March 28 to June 30, 2018. Distributable income for the quarter was also 10.5 per cent higher than a previously projected $17.3 million.

Net property income, listed as entrusted management agreements rental income, was $29.9 million, down 7.4 per cent from $32.3 million.

Portfolio occupancy, which had no comparable 2018 figure, was 95.8 per cent, versus 96.1 per cent for the first quarter.

Net asset value per unit was 86.30 cents as at June 30, down from 90.33 cents as at Dec 31, 2018.

Sasseur's four outlet malls in China generated sales of 1.03 billion yuan ($201 million) for Q2 2019, 15.4 per cent higher than a year ago.

It said it expects its outlet business to "remain resilient and continue posting good growth" as it is a young and fast-growing industry that "targets a Chinese middle income class which continues to grow in numbers and spending".

"Although the second-quarter is seasonally a period with lower customer traffic for the retail industry, our DPU continues to outperform projections which bodes well for Sasseur's overall performance this year," said Anthony Ang, CEO of the Reit's manager Sasseur Asset Management.

"Despite the ongoing trade tension between US and China, our outlet sales in China has not been impacted by external trade factors as it is largely fuelled by domestic consumption.

"For the third quarter, we are cautiously optimistic that sales and footfall will pick up again in view of Sasseur's major overnight annual promotion events that will be held in September," added Mr Ang.

Sasseur Reit units closed up $0.005 or 0.6 per cent at $0.800 on Monday.