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CMC REIT Announces 2025 Interim Results

News Provided by PR Newswire2025-08-22

CMC REIT Announces 2025 Interim Results

[22-August-2025]

Demand in Core Areas Remains

Garden City's Operations Continue to Improve

HONG KONG, Aug. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- China Merchants Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust ("CMC REIT" or "the Trust", HKEX stock code:1503), announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2025.

During the period, the rental income was RMB195.7 million, a decrease of 17.9% when compared to last year. The revenue reached RMB225.0 million, which decreased 15.5% compared to last year. During the period, the distribution per Unit to Unitholders was HK$0.0558 (equivalent to RMB0.0509). Based on the closing unit price of HK$1.23 on 30 June 2025, this represents an annual distribution yield of 9.1%.

As at 30 June 2025, net assets attributable to Unitholders amounted to RMB2,996 million or RMB2.66 per Unit, equivalent to HKD2.92 per Unit ("NAV per Unit") based on central parity rate as announced by the People's Bank on 30 June 2025. The closing unit price of HKD1.23 on 30 June 2025 represented a 57.9% discount to the NAV per Unit.

Business Performance
During the period, the aggregate occupancy rate of the entire property portfolio decreased from 90.6% to 84.5%, representing an overall decrease of 6.1 percentage points. Substantial lease terminations in Technology Building 2 and New Times Plaza caused our average occupancy rate for offices to decrease from 89.8% to 81.2%. The occupancy rate of Garden City Shopping Centre continued to rise, increasing by 4.7 percentage points to 98.2%.

While office vacancy rates in Beijing have remained elevated due to persistent oversupply, Onward Science & Trade Center applied the strategy of prioritizing occupancy over rental rates to maintain high occupancy, successfully achieved a rebound in occupancy rates in the second quarter. As the oversupply situation in Shenzhen is more severe, our other Grade-A office, New Times Plaza has seen a decrease in both occupancy and rent rate. The occupancy rate at Garden City continues to climb, though current rental prices have experienced a slight decline.

New Times Plaz a
There has been no appreciable improvement in the Shenzhen Grade-A office market. In this challenging environment, New Times Plaza's passing rent decreased by RMB 5.2/sq.m to RMB 144.6/sq.m. The expiration of a sizable lease in the first half of 2025 then led the occupancy rate to drop from 74.1% at year-end 2024 to 56.4%.

Under the influence of the downturn of the Shenzhen Grade-A office market and a material drop in both occupancy and passing rent, New Times Plaza's valuation decreased by RMB20 million to RMB1,885 million as of 30 June 2025.

Cyberport Building, Technology Building and Technology Building 2

During the period, the occupancy rate and passing rent of our Grade-B properties in the Net Valley (Technology Building, Technology Building 2, and Cyberport Building) have also weakened, but to a lesser extent.

As a result of several lease expires at Cyberport Building, its occupancy rate decreased by 5 percentage points to 86.3%, while its passing rent decreased to RMB127.0/sq.m. Technology Building's occupancy rate decreased to 97.4% but its passing rent increased by RMB3.0/sq.m to RMB142.6/sq.m compared to the end of last year. The occupancy rate of Technology Building 2 dropped by 10.3 percentage points to 89.5%, while its passing rent decreased by RMB2.4/sq.m to RMB120.9/sq.m as compared to the end of last year. In terms of valuation, Technology Building's valuation increased by RMB5 million to RMB947 million due to its higher passing rent. The valuations of Technology Building 2 and Cyberport Building decreased by 1% and 1.9%, respectively.

Onward Science & Trade Cente
Due to the intense competition among Grade-A offices in Beijing, to boost occupancy, Onward Science & Trade Center has been prioritizing occupancy over rental rates. In exchange its occupancy recovered to 92.2%, which was almost the same as at the end of last year. This strategy resulted in a downward adjustment to its passing rent, which fell by 16% to RMB 219.3/sq.m.

As a result of the decrease in market rent in Beijing and the shortening duration of Onward Science & Trade Center's land lease, the valuation of this property decreased by RMB101 million to RMB2,411 million.

Garden City Shopping Centre
Operations at Garden City Shopping Centre have continued to improve, and its occupancy rate increased by 4.7 percentage points to 98.2%. Various operations performance, such as foot traffic, the number of active loyalty program members, and tenants' sales, all indicate that the mall has been performing well. However, as it approached full occupancy by leasing out its residual below-average-rent spaces, its average passing rent fell to RMB121.7/sq.m. Competition for retail tenants will be intense in the future, and we will adopt marketing strategies to align with the latest market trends as they evolve. The valuation of Garden City Shopping Centre as of 30 June 2025 was RMB1,465 million, representing a decrease of RMB21 million.

Outlook
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, China's economy will continue to face challenges arising from a complex and volatile external environment and weak domestic demand. However, with the continuing implementation of industrial policies and the gradual unlocking of consumption potential, the economy is expected to maintain a stable growth trajectory. The prospects of different commercial real estate markets is expected to vary, with core areas supported by industrial development likely to stabilize first. At the policy level, targeted adjustments will continue to be implemented, seeking a balance that delivers stable growth at minimal risk.

Moving forward, the Company will continue to actively seek opportunities to optimize costs, in particular interest expenses. In January this year, the Company completed a refinancing of RMB4.1 billion, reducing the overall financial costs of CMC REIT by 37 basis points to 2.8%. the Company will also seek more high-quality and diversified asset classes for investment in Greater China, including student residences and serviced apartments, which have stronger anticyclical capabilities, to further diversify the asset portfolio and income sources of CMC REIT and achieve long-term sustainable growth in the distribution per unit to Unitholders.

About China Merchants Commercial REIT
China Merchants Commercial REIT is a Hong Kong collective investment scheme constituted as a unit trust and authorised under section 104 of the SFO. China Merchants Commercial REIT was launched by a well-known state-owned enterprise: China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co., Ltd. (1979.SZ). It was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2019, marking the first successful listing of a REIT in Hong Kong since 2014. It is also the first REIT to be managed by a state-owned corporation of the People's Republic of China. China Merchants Commercial REIT is a REIT formed to primarily own and invest in high quality income-generating commercial properties in the PRC (including Hong Kong and Macao but excluding the CML Cities). Its initial focus is: (i) the Greater Bay Area (other than Foshan and Guangzhou, being two of the CML Cities), which is where the initial five Properties are situated; and (ii) Beijing and Shanghai. China Merchants Commercial REIT holds six high-quality properties, with five located in Shekou, Shenzhen, and one located in Beijing. It is managed by the REIT Manager whose key investment objectives are to provide Unitholders with stable distributions, sustainable and long-term distribution growth, and enhancement in the value of China Merchants Commercial REIT's properties.

For more information about China Merchants Commercial REIT, please visit its corporate website: http://www.cmcreit.com/.

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