To say that Helical Bar (HLCL) has had a busy six months would be an understatement. On average, one new property was acquired every eight days, while a new letting or lease renewal was secured every two days.
Acquisitions totalled £94m - more than double the £46m raised from asset sales. Profits on disposal, development gains and a £33.4m valuation uplift on the investment portfolio pushed adjusted net assets up 10 per cent in the half to 345p a share.
Net rental income grew by almost a half to £16.4m, but there is also a significant reversionary element yet to be crystallised. That's because the estimated rental income - which the portfolio would generate if all rents were rebased at current rates - has risen 25 per cent to £57.1m since the March year-end, compared with a passing rent of £41m.
Helical continues to maintain a 75:25 balance between income-producing assets, which are mainly regional, and development stock, mainly in London. One particularly lucrative deal involved forward-selling an office development in Clifton Street for £38.3m, Helical having committed to pay £21m for the site on completion in 2015.
The fall in headline profits reflects two exceptional deals made the previous year that brought in £60m. Analysts at Oriel Securities are forecasting adjusted book value of 355p next March (from 313p in 2014).
| HELICAL BAR (HLCL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 352p | MARKET VALUE: | £416m | |
| TOUCH: | 350-353p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 405p | LOW: 317p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.9% | TRADING PROP: | £95m | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 9% | |||
| INVESTMENT PROP: | £662m* | NET DEBT: | 131%* | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 261 | 68.9 | 47.4 | 2 |
| 2014 | 322 | 42.9 | 32.0 | 2.1 |
| % change | +23 | -38 | -32 | +5 |
Ex-div: 11 Dec Payment: 30 Dec *Includes joint ventures | ||||
