12th Aug 2015 06:47
LONDON (Alliance News) - CLS Holdings PLC on Wednesday said it is in a good position to generate cash as it reported higher net assets, pretax profit and operating cash flow in the first half of 2015.
The FTSE 250 investment company, which owns assets in the UK, German, France and Sweden, said its European Public Real Estate Association net assets per share increased by 7.9% to 1,914.3 pence over the course of the six months to the end of June. The value of its portfolio of property investments, including those held for sale, increased to GBP1.37 billion from GBP1.31 billion in the same time period.
Pretax profit increased to GBP80.2 million in the half, compared with GBP72.6 million in the corresponding period last year, while operating cash flow was up 13.3% to GBP24.7 million on the same basis due to a "healthy arbitrage" between net initial yield and the cost of debt.
"The UK economy has continued to grow and the commercial property market has continued to flourish in the first half of the year. Within the Eurozone, however, continued strength in the German economy contrasts with that of France, and a solid economic recovery across Europe may still be some way off. As a consequence, interest rates may remain low for the foreseeable future," Executive Chairman Sten Mortstedt said in a statement.
"With high occupancy levels and a low cost of debt, the group remains well positioned to generate cash. Our strong operations, a solid balance sheet and a high level of liquid resources, together with our flexible and opportunistic business approach, will enable us to benefit from the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead," Mortstedt added.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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