RevPAR in Singapore falls by the most, 5.6%, among FHT&rsquo s five key markets, while that in Japan jumps 17.6%

 

[SINGAPORE] Frasers Hospitality Trust : ACV +0.71% saw its revenue per available room (RevPAR) drop in three of the five key markets in which it operates for the quarter ended June, the trust manager said in a regulatory filing on Monday (Aug 4).

 

RevPAR fell by between 1.2 per cent and 5.6 per cent in Singapore, Australia and Malaysia, with that in Singapore making the steepest drop for Q3 FY2025. 

 

In contrast, Japan&rsquo s RevPAR rose 17.6 per cent, and that in the United Kingdom eked out a modest gain of 0.1 per cent.

 

However, for the three quarters of FY2025, only Singapore and Malaysia posted decreased RevPAR of 3.1 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively, compared with the year-ago nine-month period. RevPAR for Japan, at 17.6 per cent higher, topped the markets for Frasers Hospitality Trust.  

 

Although the average daily rate (ADR) rose 8.3 per cent year on year, mainly due to weakness in the transient and corporate segment, there was a 4 percentage improvement to 73 per cent in occupancy for its Singapore portfolio for Q3 FY2025.

 

The Singapore dollar&rsquo s appreciation against major currencies likely dampened inbound travel demand, the trust manager said.

 

RevPAR in Malaysia normalised after the rapid recovery phase post-pandemic, with a 0.1 per cent drop, mainly due to weaker corporate and group demand.

 

In contrast, Japan posted a 9.7 percentage-point rise in occupancy and an 8 per cent increase in ADR for the nine months of FY2025, amid steady domestic demand and a sustained recovery in international arrivals.

 

In spite of a 0.3 per cent rise in RevPAR for Australia, ADR declined slightly by 1.7 per cent for Q3 FY2025 because of a high base in the previous year.    

 

Frasers Hospitality Trust&rsquo s proposed privatisation by sponsor gets SGX in-principle approval 

RevPAR rose a 2.6 per cent in the UK, driven by higher occupancy, but ADR declined amid intense rate competition in the transient segment and a market-wide dip in rates.

 

Gearing stood at 34.8 per cent, with effective cost of borrowing at 3.5 per cent and interest coverage ratio at 2.9 times as at end of Q3 FY2025.

 

Net asset value per stapled security was S$0.64, and the total value of investment properties was S$1.8 billion.

 

Units of Frasers Hospitality Trust rose by 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.705 on Monday, before this filing was published.

 

Frasers Hospitality Trust has received approval-in-principle from the Singapore Exchange to delist, once the privatisation scheme becomes effective and binding.

 

FHT will then seek unitholders' go-ahead at a scheme meeting to be called, where at least 75% of unitholders in value present at the meeting vote in favour.

 

Other conditions include the IFA saying the terms of the scheme is both fair and reasonable.

 

Frasers Property, FHT' s sponsor, had on May 14 announced an offer of 71 cents per unit to make a second attempt to privatise it.

 

Frasers Property tried to privatise FHT back in September 2022 at 70 cents per stapled security but was voted down by shareholders by a narrow margin.

 

The current offer price of 71 cents implies 1.11 times P/NAV, which beats the implied P/NAV of other previous S-REIT privatisations' 1.04 times.