14th Mar 2014 09:17
LONDON (Alliance News) - Alpha Pyrenees Trust Ltd Friday said it has continued to make progress on securing its income as it continues to recover after settling its currency hedge with Barclays PLC, though it swung to a net loss in 2013.
Shares in the trust jumped by 10.4% to 6.90 pence in early trading.
Reporting annual results for 2013, the trust, which primarily invests in higher-yielding properties in France, particularly in the Ile-de-France region around Paris, said it swung to a GBP4.3 million pretax loss in 2013, from a GBP7.3 million pretax profit in 2012.
Net rental income was down to GBP16.2 million from GBP16.8 million, with the trust's portfolio having an average occupancy of 84%.
But the numbers don't represent everything that happened during a year in which Alpha Pyrenees terminated the burdensome currency hedges its chartered accountants once warned could threaten the ability of the trust to continue as a going concern.
That EUR24.7 million settlement was reached with Barclays Bank PLC, the counterparty, in October and was followed up with a EUR25.0 million loan from the bank in November in order to finance the agreement. The borrowing facilities terminate on February 10, 2015.
Since then, the trust has been focused on securing and growing its income, with new leases and lease extensions covering 23,810 square metres, or 9% of its portfolio by area, achieved since the start of 2013.
"The investment manager has continued to focus on active asset management within the existing portfolio with particular emphasis on the extension of lease terms and the letting of vacant units to secure the trust's income," Dick Kingston, Chairman, said in a statement.
"The board is pleased to note the important progress achieved on this front in the face of a challenging business climate that has created an environment where generally, the corporate decision making process has been extended and hence the leasing environment is characterised by longer periods to complete new leasing agreements. For the trust, the reduction in earnings reflects this difficult leasing market," Kingston added.
Alpha Pyrenees reported a current portfolio valuation yield of 8.2%.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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