11th Nov 2020 10:17
(Alliance News) - Workspace Group PLC on Wednesday reported a loss in the first half following a "challenging" period.
Shares in the London office, industrial and workshop space investor were down 4.0% in London on Wednesday morning at 725.50 pence each.
In the six months to September 30, Workspace swung to a pretax loss of GBP110.4 million compared to a GBP99.1 million profit a year before.
Workspace's net rental income dropped 39% year on year to GBP36.5 million from GBP60.1 million.
"Like so many businesses, we have had a challenging first half as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic," Chief Executive Graham Clemett said.
EPRA net tangible assets per share declined by 7.6% to GBP10.05 from GBP10.88 at the end of March.
The company's property valuations fell 8.6% to GBP2.45 billion from GBP2.68 billion at the same point the year before. Workspace's EPRA net asset value per share
The number of lettable units fell to 4,147 from 4,969 the year before, while its occupancy reduced to 81.1% from 86.3%.
Clemett continued: "Despite the difficult environment, we have delivered a resilient performance which has highlighted the strength of our offering and business model. We have sought to support our customers as much as possible during this time, offering the majority a 50% rent discount in the first quarter. We believe our freehold ownership model, our financial strength and our long-established flexible offer will be an attractive option for an increasing number of London businesses as the economy recovers. In this regard, it was encouraging to see the increase in enquiries and lettings from new customers to near pre-Covid levels in the second quarter, confirming the appeal of our offer."
Workspace has decided to defer its decision on its interim dividend, choosing instead to wait until the end of its financial year to make a decision on a full-year payout. In the first half last year, Workspace paid an 11.67p dividend.
The company's loan-to-value rose to 23% from 21% the year before.
"Our immediate priority is to manage our way through the challenges of the second half of the year. With [UK] government Covid-19 restrictions in place we expect to see further pressure on occupancy and pricing in the near-term, which will impact on our full year performance. However, our strong balance sheet, compelling customer offer and experienced team mean that Workspace is well positioned to navigate the challenges ahead and benefit as the economy recovers," Clemett added.
By Paul McGowan; [email protected]
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