18th Nov 2015 08:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - Retail property investor NewRiver Retail Ltd on Wednesday said its pretax profit surged in the first half thanks to valuation gains on its portfolio and a big rise in gross rental income.
The group said its pretax profit for the half to the end of September was GBP42.2 million, compared to GBP12.3 million a year earlier. NewRiver booked a GBP22.9 million gain on the revaluation of its portfolio in the half, up from GBP5.6 million a year earlier, while its gross rental income and fees, including joint ventures, rose to GBP35.8 million from GBP16.9 million.
The group's net asset value rose to GBP521.0 million at the end of September from GBP339.7 million at the end of March, while net asset value per share increased to 287.00 pence from 265.00p over the same period.
In the half, NewRiver spent GBP230.0 million on acquisitions and its total assets under management has now hit GBP1.0 billion for the first time.
The company paid 9.0p per share in dividends in the first half, up from 8.5p, and will increase its third quarter dividend to 4.75p, up 12% year-on-year, it said.
"I am delighted to report another strong set of financial results following one of the most active periods for NewRiver since its incorporation in 2009. We have achieved record profit growth and strong sustainable income returns, delivering increases in all our key financial metrics," said Chief Executive David Lockhart.
Shares in NewRiver were up 3.0% to 345.20p on Wednesday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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