26th Nov 2015 07:48
LONDON (Alliance News) - Property investor LondonMetric Property PLC on Thursday said its pretax profit dipped in the first half, in line with a lower revaluation gain, though its net asset value per share rose year-on-year and over the course of the half.
FTSE 250-listed LondonMetric said its pretax profit for the half to the end of September was GBP64.3 million, compared to GBP69.7 million a year earlier, as its revaluation surplus in the half dipped to GBP47.2 million from GBP52.3 million.
The group said it would pay a flat interim dividend of 3.5 pence per share.
LondonMetric's net asset value per share increased to 146.6p, up from 128.8p a year earlier and from 140.6p at the end of March. The company's total portfolio was valued at GBP1.5 billion, after it acquired GBP87.8 million worth of property in the half and sold GBP120.0 million.
Total rental income for the half was up 10% to GBP31.7 million from GBP28.9 million, and its occupancy rate improved to 99.9%, up from 99.7%.
"Market yield compression is slowing and assets across all sectors will need to demonstrate sustainability of income and growth to benefit from further valuation uplifts. Therefore, our focus continues to be centred on owning quality real estate with deep occupier appeal that can deliver future income and capital growth from increasing demand, asset management and development opportunities," said Andrew Jones, chief executive.
Separately on Thursday, LondonMetric said it has signed a deal to acquire a 356,000 square foot distribution warehouse in Warrington. It will forward fund the development at a total cost of GBP30.0 million and expects to generate a yield on cost of 7.0%.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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