11th Nov 2014 07:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - Land Securities Group PLC Tuesday said the shift in its retail portfolio to better quality properties is paying off, as it reported higher net asset value per share and a 7.5% valuation surplus over the first half of its financial year.
In a statement, the commercial property company reported a basic net asset value per share of 1,183 pence on September 30, up from 1,069 pence at the end of March, while its adjusted diluted net asset value per share rose to 1,129 pence, from 1,013 pence. Its valuation surplus over the period was GBP880.2 million, representing 7.5% growth, and it combined portfolio was valued at GBP13.2 billion.
The company reported a pretax profit of GBP1.03 billion for the half, up from GBP397.9 million a year earlier, while revenue profit increased to GBP170.0 million, from GBP156.5 million.
Land Securities sold GBP185.8 million worth of property in the half, and bought property worth GBP697.0 million.
"We have continued to transform our shopping centre portfolio - selling in Bristol, Exeter and Sunderland and buying Bluewater, Kent and Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow. The acquisition of the Bluewater stake exemplifies the scale and pace of change and together with major assets in Glasgow, Cardiff, Oxford, Leeds, Greater London and Portsmouth, we now own a higher quality shopping centre portfolio," the company said in a statement.
"We believe this focus on dominance, experience and convenience will serve customers and shareholders well. At the operational level, we have continued to drive performance - actively managing our tenant mix and keeping voids low," it said.
It said the void in its like-for-like portfolio stood at 2.6% at the end of September, up slightly from 1.9% at the end of March.
It raised its interim dividend to 15.8 pence, from 15.2 pence a year ago.
Ungeared total property return was 9.9%, outperforming the IPD Quarterly Universe benchmark which rose 9.3%. Total business return grew 13.0%.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @stevemcgrath1
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