5th Aug 2015 06:38
LONDON (Alliance News) - Unite Group PLC on Wednesday posted a huge rise in pretax profit in the first half of 2015, driven in part by gains made on the revaluation of its property but also by growth in its rental income and revenue, prompting the company to more than double its dividend payout.
The FTSE 250-listed student accommodation developer said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of June was GBP227.3 million, significantly higher than the GBP44.6 million it posted a year earlier.
The profit surge was driven in part by a big gain the company made on the revaluation of its property, registering a gain of GBP82.9 million, compared to a revaluation gain of GBP14.0 million a year earlier. United also registered a sharp rise in revenue to GBP141.8 million from GBP57.9 million and in rental income to GBP51.6 million from GBP45.0 million.
Net asset value per share rose by 20% to 521 pence from 434p at the end of December.
On the back of those results, the group said it will pay an interim dividend of 5.5 pence per share, more than double the 2.2p per share it paid out a year earlier.
Unite said it remains on track to increase its rental income growth rate to between 3.5% and 4.0% for the full year.
"Throughout the first half of 2015 we have continued to deliver against our three key strategic priorities: to be the most trusted brand in our sector, to operate the highest quality portfolio and to maintain the strongest capital structure. As a result we are delighted to report another set of strong results," said Unite Chief Executive Mark Allan.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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