It was a quiet year for Aim-listed real-estate fund manager First Property Group (FPO), which bought just one asset. That was partly deliberate after its main market of operation, Poland, weakened in the wake of the euro crisis. But it also reflects a bout of bad luck. One major deal fell through when the bank decided to extend a loan to a tenant at the last minute, says chief executive Ben Habib, and there's also the dismal environment for institutional fundraising.
Profits were consequently flat on an underlying basis and fell in absolute terms because of the weaker euro. A higher tax charge also depressed the EPS figure, though profits still more than twice cover the generous dividends.
Mr Habib is optimistic that trade will now pick up. He expects a number of Polish deals to complete over the next few months and, in the UK, he sees signs that the "institutional risk appetite is coming back". Meanwhile, First Property is working with its own ample cash resources - it had £13m in the bank on 31 March - and high net worth individuals. The company is also exploring the potential for office to residential conversions; the government's Help to Buy programme has made Mr Habib bullish on the regional UK housing market.
Broker Arden Partners expects pre-tax profits of £3.3m for 2014, giving EPS of 2.1p (from 2.3p in 2013).
FIRST PROPERTY GROUP (FPO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 19p | MARKET VALUE: | £21.1m | |
| TOUCH: | 18.8-19.3p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 23p | 16.3p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.7% | PE RATIO: | 8 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 16p | NET DEBT: | 64% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 11.2 | 3.86 | 2.81 | 1.00 |
| 2010 | 9.50 | 2.61 | 2.00 | 1.03 |
| 2011 | 7.10 | 2.95 | 2.02 | 1.06 |
| 2012 | 9.34 | 3.97 | 2.88 | 1.08 |
| 2013 | 10.6 | 3.54 | 2.31 | 1.08 |
| % change | +13 | -11 | -20 | - |
Ex-div: 28 Aug Payment: 27 Sep | ||||
