Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (Sunway REIT) said its third-quarter net property income (NPI) rose 8% to RM113.8 million, from RM105.3 million a year ago, on higher contribution from its retail, hotel, office and services segments.

Net realised income for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 (3QFY19) increased 8.5% to RM75.76 million, from RM69.85 million previously.

The group declared a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.58 sen for the quarter, to be paid on May 30.

The group said their quarterly revenue increased by 7.1% to RM151.5 million, primarily contributed by a firmer financial performance from the retail and office segments which was further boosted by higher income contribution from Sunway Clio Property.

"The financial performance for the retail segment during the quarter was primarily contributed by higher turnover rent at Sunway Pyramid Mall, however partially offset by a softer performance at Sunway Putra Mall," it said.

Quarterly revenue for the retail segment expanded 2.5% to RM110.7 million, while NPI rose 3.2% to RM79.5 million.

For the hotel segment, revenue rose 30.2% to RM23.4 million, mainly contributed by higher income contribution from Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa and the recently-acquired Sunway Clio Property, though this was partially offset by softer performance in other hotels within the asset portfolio.

NPI jumped in tandem with revenue growth of 28.9% to RM21.5 million.

As for offices, despite the challenging market environment, the segment saw a 17.5% rise in third-quarter revenue to RM9.9 million, largely contributed by higher average occupancy rates at Sunway Putra Tower and Wisma Sunway. The latter has achieved full occupancy as of March 31.

During the same quarter, NPI improved by 18.4% to RM5.3 million.

For the cumulative nine-month period ending March 31, 2019 (9MFY19), Sunway REIT achieved modest growth in revenue of 2.5% year-on-year to RM434.7 million.

Correspondingly, NPI improved by 2.8% to RM328.5 million.

Looking ahead, Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd CEO, Datuk Jeffrey Ng, said Sunway REIT anticipates modest growth from the retail and office segments.

This is coupled with a full year income contribution from Sunway Clio Property and proportionate income contribution from the recently-acquired purpose-built campus.

"The acquisition of the purpose-built campus was completed on April 15. However, we also expect softness in the hospitality sector to persist, due to the oversupply situation and weak tourist arrivals," Ng said.