Andrew Lansley's controversial NHS reforms have slowed the pace of rental growth for GP's landlords - but the sector remains robust by the standards of the wider commercial property industry. The 82 rent reviews Assura Group (AGR) settled during the six months to 30 September showed an average annual uplift of 2.4 per cent - compared to 3-4 per cent in previous years - and even that was buoyed by delayed reviews and inflation-linked leases.
Organic valuation growth was consequently muted, but Assura compensated by delivering four developments at a book-boosting profit-on-cost of 12 per cent. These also added £600,000 to the rent roll, increasing underlying profits by 46 per cent.
ASSURA GROUP (AGR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 34p | MARKET VALUE: | £176m | |
| TOUCH: | 33-34p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 36p | LOW: 27p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.4%* | TRADING PROP: | £17.6m | |
| DISCOUNT TO NAV: | 8% | |||
| INVESTMENT PROP: | £546m | NET DEBT: | 189% | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011** | 49.1 | -26.3 | -3.1 | nil |
| 2012 | 36.4 | 6.5 | 1.2 | 0.57 |
| % change | - | - | - | - |
Ex-div: tbc Payment: tbc *Forecast, based on quarterly dividends of 0.285p **Adjusted for Nov 2011 rights issue | ||||
