7th Jun 2023 09:31
(Alliance News) - LXi REIT PLC on Wednesday said the successful merger with Secure Income REIT PLC drove up its annual rental income, but said loss widened, and reported a drop in its net asset value.
The London-based commercial real estate-focused investment trust said its net asset value at March 31 was 123.0 pence per share, down 14% from 142.7p per share a year prior. NAV total return was negative 11%, compared to 18% the year before, ahead of the CBRE All Property Benchmark of negative 16%, LXi said.
The company swung to a pretax loss of GBP287.1 million in the year ended March 31, from a profit of GBP161.3 million the year before. This was attributed to a GBP406.7 million loss in the change in fair value of investment property.
Rental income, on the other hand, tripled to GBP203.5 million from GBP58.5 million in financial 2022. LXi merged with Secure Income REIT in 2022, which provided the company with a "substantial, defensive and resilient portfolio", boosting its rental income. This was also driven by the sale of a 65-year income strip of the company's Alton Towers and Thorpe Park's assets for GBP257 million.
LXi declared a total dividend target for financial 2023 of 6.30p per share, up 4.9% from 6.0p per share.
Looking ahead, the company said it increased its dividend target by 5% for the year ending March 2024 to 6.6p per share. LXi added that it is confident it will withstand the challenging economic environment thanks to its "carefully curated portfolio".
Chair Cyrus Ardalan said: "We remain focused on managing both the risks and opportunities that our portfolio presents. We remain confident in our ability to successfully capitalise on the growth opportunities that we continue to identify and on continuing to provide a secure and growing income return to our investors. This will enable us to continue to enhance and unlock sustainable value in our defensive, resilient portfolio for all of our stakeholders."
Shares in LXi were down 0.8% at 100.09 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Sabrina Penty, Alliance News reporter
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