23rd May 2019 11:05
LONDON (Alliance News) - Helical PLC on Thursday expressed a confident outlook for the year ahead following an increase in net asset value.
The stock was up 3.6% in morning trade on Thursday at 358.00 pence a share.
The property investment and development company said NAV per share was up 3.0% to 482p on March 31 compared to 468p on the same day a year prior, thanks to the strong performance of its property portfolio, which returned 10.1% over the year versus the MSCI Central London Offices Total Return Index of 4.8%.
Property portfolio value declined, however, to GBP778.8 million from GBP791.9 million at the end of March last year, with net rents down to GBP25.2 million from GBP36.1 million year-on-year. On a like-for-like basis, the investment portfolio increased in value by 6.8%.
Helical recorded the gain on sale and revaluation of its investment portfolio of GBP60.6 million, up from GBP40.7 million a year earlier. This resulted in a 41% increase in pretax profit for the year that ended on March 31 to GBP43.5 million from GBP30.8 million.
The proposed final dividend of 7.50p takes the total dividend for the year to 10.10p, a 6.3% increase on the previous year.
"Our increased financial capacity, following the transformation of the portfolio over the last two years, allied to our current operational capacity, enables us to look forward with confidence in our ability to deliver capital profits and increased earnings," said Chief Executive Gerald Kaye.
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