Credit Suisse lowered its target price for Link REIT (00823) to HK$99.2 from HK$101.5 but upgraded its rating to "outperform" from "neutral".
Despite market concern on retail sales performance, management remains positive on the company's outlook and has guided for stable 3Q retail sales during a recent analyst briefing, said the research house.
Link registered 3.1% growth in retail sales during 2Q, outperforming a decline of 3.4% for the overall market. Management commented that it is not necessary to offer rent cuts for its general tenants. However, Link will offer assistance to certain tenants, in particular, to valuable goods retailers which account for 0.9% of Link's trade mix.
Credit Suisse cut its FY2020/21/22 earnings forecasts by 1%/2%/3% to reflect lower rental growth assumptions.