The economic downturn has been horrible for French and Spanish commercial property group Alpha Pyrenees - but the group is now on a much firmer footing. It has renegotiated the terms of its vast debt pile - Alpha now doesn't face a loan-to-value covenant test until early in 2014 and will not have to refinance any borrowings until February 2015.
Meanwhile, having suffered a 21 per cent drop in property values from the peak in its French portfolio, which comprises 90 per cent of the total by value, the market is now stabilising. The Spanish market remains horrid, though.
Earnings fell after Alpha lost two tenants last year and the board has re-based the dividend to 0.9p per quarter (3.6p a year), which is considered sustainable. A successful conclusion to negotiations over financing terms also means that the £16.4m of cash held by group can now be invested at what could prove to be the bottom of the cycle.
Alpha Pyrenees (ALPH) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 32p | MARKET VALUE: | £37.6m | |
| TOUCH: | 31-32p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 41p | LOW: 25p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 22% | TRADING STOCK: | nil | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 94% | |||
| INVESTMENT PROPERTIES: | £265m | NET DEBT: | £225m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 90.3 | -2.70 | -1.7 | 5.0 |
| 2008 | 97.1 | 11.7 | 4.7 | 6.0 |
| 2008 | 55.5 | -64.1 | -54.4 | 6.6 |
| 2009 | 16.5 | -31.6 | -26.9 | 7.0 |
| % change | -70 | - | - | 6 |
Ex-div: 17 Mar Payment: 1 Apr | ||||
