3rd Feb 2015 07:45
LONDON (Alliance News) - St Modwen Properties PLC on Tuesday reported a surge in pretax profit for its recent financial year, prompting a hike to its dividend as its net asset value and property profits both rose over the period.
The FTSE 250-listed property company said its pretax profit for the year to November 30 was GBP138.1 million, up 68% from the GBP82.2 million reported last year.
The group hiked its total dividend for the year to 4.6 pence per share, up from 4 pence per share last year. Its final dividend for the year is 3.137 pence per share, up from 2.67 pence last year.
Earnings per share for the year rose by 57% to GBP52.7 pence, the company said, while property profits for the year were up 45% to GBP57.7 million.
St Modwen's portfolio valuation rose by GBP90 million over the year to GBP1.3 billion, compared to a GBP42 million rise last year. The valuation rise was driven primarily by market performance, which contributed GBP58 million to the gain. It also saw its residential profits more than double over the year to GBP24 million from GBP9 million in 2013.
"This has been an exceptional year for St Modwen and we have achieved significant progress across all of our major projects as well as increasing our active pipeline of commercial development opportunities to over 3m sq ft of space. The residential part of the business continues to perform well with good sales rates achieved throughout the year and we anticipate a sustained performance into 2015," said St Modwen Chief Executive Bill Oliver.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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