27th Jul 2023 10:26
(Alliance News) - Segro PLC on Thursday said the limited supply of warehouses in the market helped to drive rental growth in the first half of 2023, supporting a dividend hike despite a swing to loss on property valuations.
London-based Segro owns a pan-European portfolio of industrial warehouses.
Segro swung to an IFRS pretax loss of GBP33 million in the six months that ended June 30, swung from a GBP1.38 billion profit a year before. IFRS stands for international financial reporting standards.
This was due to GBP188 million in realised and unrealised property losses, swung from a gain of GBP1.17 billion a year before.
On an adjusted basis, pretax profit rose 2.6% to GBP198 million from GBP193 million. Revenue rose to GBP342 million from GBP330 million.
Assets under management edged up to GBP21.02 billion from GBP20.95 billion, but IFRS net asset value per share declined by 2.7% to 913 pence from 938p.
Segro declared a dividend of 8.7 pence per share, up 7.4% from 8.1p a year before.
"The structural drivers of occupier demand remain evident across the UK and Europe, whilst supply remains constrained in our chosen markets, helping to drive rental growth in line with our expectations," commented Chief Executive David Sleath. "Valuations have been relatively stable in the first half of this year, following the deep valuation correction in the latter part of 2022."
He added: "We have significant opportunities to drive rent and create value both within our standing portfolio and through the execution of our profitable development programme."
Segro shares were down 0.7% at 780.40 pence on Thursday morning in London. They are down 25% over the past 12 months.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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