23rd May 2019 10:48
LONDON (Alliance News) - Hibernia REIT PLC hiked its dividend Thursday after annual assets and rental income rose strongly amid ongoing high demand for its Dublin-focused properties.
For the financial year ended March, net asset value per share rose 8.9% to 173.3 euro cents from 159.1 cents the year prior. This was after net rental income grew 17% to EUR53.3 million from EUR45.7 million the year before.
"Hibernia's portfolio returns continue to outperform the market, and we are reporting another set of strong financial results, including increasing our net rental income and our full year dividend by over 16%," Hibernia Chief Executive Officer Kevin Nowlan said.
Hibernia proposed a 2.0 cent final dividend, up 5.3% from 1.9 cents the year prior. For the full year, the dividend rose 17% to 3.5 cents from 3.0 cents the year before.
"We have continued to recycle capital, selling assets worth over EUR100 million and reinvesting EUR85 million in new acquisitions and our developments, where we expect better future returns," Nowlan added.
"Demand for office and residential accommodation in Dublin remains high and the Irish economy continues to show a good rate of growth and strong job creation," Nowlan explained.
"With our substantial pipeline of accretive development opportunities, well-capitalised balance sheet with long-term funding, and experienced management team, Hibernia continues to be well positioned," Nowlan said. "We will maintain our disciplined approach to capital allocation and in the near term we are focused on letting the vacant space in our portfolio and completing the outstanding rent reviews."
Shares in Hibernia were 1.2% higher at EUR1.39 on Thursday.
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