The current earnings season is winding down, and I’ve been watching as companies and real estate investment trusts (REITs) report their full-year 2018 results. Today, I’m looking at two REITs that produced good results. First up is CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U). The REIT currently has 15 shopping malls that are mostly located in the suburban areas and downtown core of Singapore. The malls include Tampines Mall, Junction 8, Funan, IMM Building, Plaza Singapura, and Bugis Junction. For 2018, CapitaLand Mall Trust reported that gross revenue was up 2.2% to S$697.5 million and net property income (NPI) grew 3.2% to S$125.7 million. The improvement in gross revenue and NPI was driven by two factors: (1) The November 2018 acquisition of the remaining 70% stake in Westgate th

Frasers Property Limited (formerly known as Frasers Centrepoint Limited) is a multinational integrated real estate conglomerate with assets located in Singapore, Australia, China, and Europe. Frasers Property is active in property development, management, REITs, and investments. As at 30 September 2018, Frasers Property has a total of S$32.4 billion in total assets. In this article, I’ll revisit its fundamentals, provide an update on its latest results, and evaluate its valuation. Here are 10 things to know about Frasers Property before you invest. 1. Singapore: Profit before interest and tax (PBIT) grew 17.8% year-on-year to S$481.0 million in 2018. This was due to an increase in development profits from key projects, namely: Park Life EC, North Park Residences, and Seaside Resi

After steadily raising interest rates for the past 2 years, the Fed is indicating that it could take a pause from more interest rate hikes. The officials are signalling that they will wait and monitor the market before deciding whether the economy is strong enough for another rate hike. With interest rate risk deflating and the flight to safety trend, most S-REITs are showing significant positive return over end-2018 share price. KGI notes that this will continue to be the dominant trend moving forward. As such, despite recent capital gains, KGI believes that the current valuation of S-REITs is still moderately attractive for investors to enter into S-REIT investments. KGI: Ranking S-REITs On 4 Investment Criteria To help investors decipher which S-REITs to invest in, KGI categorised the S

In early 2017, Sabana REIT has been getting a lot of attention when a small group of unitholders moved to kick out the manager for delivering poor performance since its IPO in 2010. Early investors who bought Sabana at an IPO price of S$1.05 are now sitting on huge losses – Sabana last traded at just 41.5 cents per share at time of writing. If we look at the history, Sabana REIT isn’t alone. There are several other Singapore REITs (S-REITs) like Saizen REIT, MacarthurCook Industrial REIT and Allco REIT that have run into trouble before and caused a dent in Singapore’s REIT sector. Despite some casualties, Singapore’s REIT market remains vibrant – largely thanks to the majority of S-REITs that continue to deliver good results to income investors. In this article, we look at the pe

The US Federal Reserve has indicated that 2019 will likely see slower interest rate hikes. This comes on the back of mounting macroeconomic uncertainties, that has seen investors turn to less risky investments. This may benefit REITs in three ways: # 1 Traditionally, REITs take on a lot of debt to fund its capital-intensive property investments. Slower interest rate hikes in 2019 will ease the growing pressure on REITs, in terms of debt repayment. # 2 Markets are efficient – which means that prices of REITs would have taken into consideration that rate hikes would continue as normal. This stance of slowing down the interest rate hikes in 2019 is new information for the market, and may give REITs a boost. (Do note that most of this new information should already be priced into the markets

Hedge-fund managers are complaining that quantitative and algorithmic traders are stealing their lunches. Better known as quants and algos, these traders employ sophisticated techniques to exploit, what they believe, are opportunities in the market. They might sell in huge quantities, when they believe market conditions are suggesting weakness. They might buy when they think conditions are favourable. They might use high-frequency trading mechanisms to execute their orders. That could cause markets to behave erratically, at best. Flash crashes, at worst. It’s making life unbearable for hedge funds, who by comparison are like pussy cats playing in a lion’s den. They would prefer more predictable markets, where their long and short strategies are less likely to be disrupted. So, they wan

Both Singapore and Malaysia have an established real estate investment trust (REIT) market with a long history. Singapore’s first REIT to be listed on the local stock exchange in 2002 was CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U). Meanwhile, in Malaysia, Amanah Harta Tanah PNB (KLSE: 4952.KL) became the country’s first listed REIT more than a decade before CapitaLand Mall Trust. CapitaLand Mall Trust remains the largest listed REIT in Singapore by market capitalisation while in Malaysia, the biggest REIT is KLCC Stapled Group (KLSE: 5235SS.KL), which owns the famous Twin Towers. Background on the REIT giants CapitaLand Mall Trust is a retail REIT that owns 15 shopping malls in Singapore, including Tampines Mall, Bugis Junction, and Plaza Singapura. It also holds slightly below 13% of CapitaLan

Frasers Centrepoint Trust  (SGX: J69U) and CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U) are two real estate investment trusts (REITs) with a focus on retail assets. The former owns properties such as Causeway Point and Northpoint City North Wing, while the latter is the owner of 15 malls such as Tampines Mall, Junction 8, and Funan. Given that both REITs are exposed to retail-related properties, investors might want to know which is a better buy now. To find out, we’re putting the duo to a test made up of three parts. In part 1 and part 2, we looked at the REITs’ track records of growth in distribution per unit (DPU) in the last decade, as well as their debt profiles. Frasers Centrepoint Trust came in ahead in both tests. In this article, we’re looking at the last part of our compari

Of the many tools and financial metrics investors use for their corporate analysis, one of the most useful has to be the return on equity (ROE). This ratio measures the profitability of the business per dollar of equity and is usually expressed as a percentage. The basic formula for ROE is relatively simple to understand: Take the net profit after tax of the business and divide it by the total equity of the company. American conglomerate DuPont has come up with a formula to further break down the ROE formula into three separate components in order to deepen the analysis and provide more insights. The ROE equation can be further split into the following: ROE = Net Profit Margin x Asset Turnover x Financial Leverage Let’s look at each component in turn. Net profit margin The net profit

Frasers Centrepoint Trust  (SGX: J69U) and CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U) are two real estate investment trusts (REITs) with a focus on retail assets. The former owns properties such as Causeway Point and Northpoint City North Wing, while the latter is the owner of 15 malls such as Tampines Mall, Junction 8, and Funan. Given that both REITs are exposed to retail-related properties, investors might want to know which is a better buy now. To find out, we’re putting the duo to a test made up of three parts. In part 1, we looked at the companies’ track records of growth in distribution per unit (DPU) over the last decade, and Frasers Centrepoint Trust came out ahead. In part 2, we’re looking at the next comparison: debt profile. The showdown Let’s begin with Frasers C

Frasers Centrepoint Trust  (SGX: J69U) and CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U) are two real estate investment trusts (REITs) with a focus on retail assets. The former owns properties such as Causeway Point and Northpoint City North Wing, while the latter is the owner of 15 malls such as Tampines Mall, Junction 8, and Funan. Given that both REITs are exposed to retail-related properties, investors might want to know which is a better buy now. To find out, we’re putting the duo to a test made up of three parts. In this first test, we’re looking at the companies’ track records of growth in distribution per unit (DPU) over the last 10 years. The showdown From fiscal year 2009 to fiscal year 2018, Frasers Centrepoint Trust has grown its DPU from 7.51 Singapore cents to 12.015

Every company juggles its receivables, inventory, and payables in different ways, and this is also determined, in part, by the nature and characteristics of the industry in which it operates. One method investors can use to determine how all of these attributes come together is to analyse the cash conversion cycle of a business. The formula is as follows: Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) = receivables turnover (days) + inventory turnover (days) – payables turnover (days) Let’s now look at each component and how to make use of the CCC. Receivables turnover days This metric measures the average time it takes for a business to collect money from its debtors, and it’s a measure of the quality of customer collection from credit sales. Most businesses sell products and services on c

Frasers Commercial Trust (SGX: ND8U), or FCT, is a REIT that focuses primarily on commercial properties. It has ownership stakes in six commercial properties located in Singapore, Australia, and the United Kingdom. There are two things to know about the REIT right now: its latest financial performance and its valuation. Financial performance Here is a table showing a few important metrics from FCT’s financial performance for the first quarter of the financial year ending 30 September 2019 (FY19). Source: FCT Result Presentation Overall, we can see that FCT delivered a weaker performance for the quarter. Gross revenue fell 10.7% year on year mainly due to lower occupancy rates for the Singapore properties, the divestment of 55 Market Street, and a weaker Australian dollar. One thing to

Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) is a SGX-listed retail REIT that owns six suburban retail malls located around Singapore. They include Anchorpoint, YewTee Point, Causeway Point, Northpoint City North Wing, Bedok Point, and Changi City Point. As at 30 September 2018, FCT’s portfolio of properties was valued at S$2.75 billion. FCT has been on our watchlist for some time now and with good reason too – since its IPO in 2006, the REIT has achieved 12 consecutive years of distribution growth. At the same time, the market is well aware of FCT’s remarkable track record which makes buying opportunities for FCT hard to come by. However, a surprise announcement by CEO Dr Chew Tuan Chiong at the latest annual meeting may put FCT’s future performance in doubt… Here are 10 things I

Whenever a topic on investment is brought up, many people automatically assume that it involves a lot of numbers. This is a natural instinct as accounting is the language of business, and financial statements basically tell investors everything they need to know about the state of the company and its financial health. Investors who may not be numerically-inclined may be put off by this assumption as they may feel that investing is tough to grasp. However, I would argue that investing is more than just numbers; in fact, it involves a study of facts, people and also one’s own psychology. The Quantitative Aspect Of Investing Investing involves several key aspects, and the quantitative aspect is the most prominent of all. As mentioned, investors rely on financial numbers, ratios and metr

For many Singaporeans, their Central Provident Fund (CPF) may contain the bulk of their savings. Besides the 20% of one’s paycheck that each individual has to contribute each month, employers are also required to contribute an additional 17%, which adds up to 37% of your stated monthly salary. As such, your CPF account can grow reasonably quickly. As it stands, most Singaporeans either do not touch their CPF money and let it accrue interest, or they take the money out to pay for their Housing Development Board (HDB) home or other properties. This is a reasonable use of CPF funds. However, there are many other ways you can make use of your CPF. The CPF Investment Scheme offers Singaporeans the chance to invest their CPF money into a variety of investment instruments such as insurance, uni

https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/28/3-trusts-giving-out-distributions-on-tuesday/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/28/3-reits-with-the-biggest-financial-flexibility-for-growth/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/25/singapore-retail-reits-on-the-rise/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/23/mapletree-industrial-trusts-latest-earnings-update-distribution-per-unit-grew-6-6/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/23/10-quick-things-investors-should-know-about-frasers-centrepoint-trusts-latest-earnings-2/It’s earnings season again! Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have always been a favourite investment choice for risk-averse investors due to their stable earnings qualities. Let’s look at two REITs that have lived up to investors’ expectations by delivering positive performances in their latest earnings updates. The

https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/25/singapore-retail-reits-on-the-rise/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/25/frasers-logistics-industrial-trusts-latest-earnings-dpu-impacted-by-falling-currency/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/23/singapores-top-10-dividend-shares-among-the-worlds-best/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/23/10-quick-things-investors-should-know-about-frasers-centrepoint-trusts-latest-earnings-2/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/20/distributable-income-rises-at-frasers-commercial-trust/With more than 40 real estate investment trusts (REITs) or stapled trusts in the local stock market, choosing the one that is best positioned for growth can be a tough task. However, one key metric that can help investors identify such REITs is the gearing ratio. The gearing ratio is a ratio comparing the REIT’s debt aga

https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/23/capitaland-mall-trusts-2018-full-year-earnings-steady-growth-in-distribution-per-unit/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/23/10-quick-things-investors-should-know-about-frasers-centrepoint-trusts-latest-earnings-2/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/22/2-singapore-reits-i-am-watching-this-week/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/19/the-week-ahead-cmt-cct-keppel-corp-and-sgx/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/18/singapores-top-5-blue-chip-shares-with-the-highest-dividend-yields/While some have been predicting the demise of traditional retail due to e-commerce, the reality is anything but. In fact, this week, two Singapore-focused retail real estate investment trusts (REITs ) — Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX: J69U) and CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U) — posted higher earnings, i

On Monday, Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX: J69U), or FCT, released its 2019 first quarter earnings update. As a quick introduction, FCT is a real estate investment trust (REIT) which owns suburban retail malls in Singapore. It also holds a 31.15% stake in Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust, a retail-focused REIT in Malaysia. Here are 10 things investors should know about FCT’s latest results: 1. Gross revenue for the reporting quarter grew 2.9% to S$49.3 million while net property income improved by 2.5% to S$35.4 million. 2. Similarly, the REIT’s distribution per unit (DPU) was up by 0.7% year-on-year to 3.02 cents, mainly due to higher net property income. 3. Based on FCT’s annualised DPU of 12.08 Singapore cents and its last trading price of S$2.24, the REIT had a trailing distr