18th Jun 2019 09:17
(Alliance News) - Safestore Holdings PLC on Monday reported a sharp drop in profit in the first half of its financial year due to a considerable reduction in its gain on investment properties.
The self storage company reported a GBP38.2 million pretax profit for the six months to April 30, 53% below its GBP81.9 million profit a year before.
This was due to reduced gain on investment properties, coming in at GBP7.9 million for the half compared to a much larger GBP51.8 million gain the year before.
On an underlying basis, which excludes investment property gains and other factors, pretax profit rose 7.1% to GBP31.5 million from GBP29.4 million.
Revenue rose 5.6% to GBP73.1 million from GBP69.2 million and the company increased its dividend by 7.8% to 5.5 pence from 5.1p.
Safestore Chief Executive Frederic Vecchioli said: "Our scale continues to allow us to invest in our digital marketing platforms and service proposition, and this remains a key competitive advantage in a fragmented industry. Our balance sheet remains strong and efficient, with a low cost of debt. Our existing financing capacity, combined with the strong free cash generation of the business, allows us to continue to target selected development and acquisition opportunities."
"With our leading market positions across the UK and in Paris, the company is in a strong position with significant low-cost growth potential. We remain on-course to meet the board's full year expectations," Vecchioli added.
Shares in Safestore were down 2.1% at 639.97 pence on Tuesday morning in London.
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