Urban&Civic (UANC) executive chairman Nigel Hugill called the next 18 months "pivotal" as the property developer nears the point of realising profit from various larger projects and the benefits start to flow through from the February acquisition of Catesby Property. The full-year numbers were in line with expectations, with adjusted book value of 272p up 9 per cent over the year. That increase would have been into double figures bar a £4.4m write-down on the value of U&C's Scottish Land portfolio - a legacy of the Terrace Hill reverse acquisition last year.
Mr Hugill's bullish near-term expectations are based on agreements U&C has inked with five homebuilders representing 800 housing plots in Alconbury in Cambridgeshire and Rugby in Warwickshire. The projects should underpin profits through to the end of 2017. Construction work is already under way at the Alconbury Weald site on the back of agreements with Hopkins Homes and two other housebuilders. The chairman said that it would be disappointing if U&C "did not realise more than twice the September 2015 valuations" at Alconbury.
The developer is also on course to submit planning applications next autumn for its Waterbeach brownfield site in South Cambridgeshire. Waterbeach accounts for the bulk of U&C's plots yet to receive planning consent.
Broker Stifel gives an adjusted NAV of 309p for the September 2016 year-end.
| URBAN&CIVIC (UANC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 268p | MARKET VALUE: | £386m | |
| TOUCH: | 268-273p | 12-MONTH HIGH | 280p | LOW: 234 |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.0% | TRADING PROPERTIES: | £163m | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV | 10% | |||
| INVESTMENT PROPERTIES: | £140m | NET CASH: | £32.2m | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013* | 228 | 28.7 | 31.5 | nil |
| 2014** | 239 | 19.2 | 20.8 | 1.50 |
| 2015 | 243 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 2.65 |
| % change | +2 | -64 | -76 | +80 |
Ex-div: 4 Feb Payment: 19 Feb *12-month's figures for Urban&Civic (excluding Terrace Hill) **Nine months figures to 30 Sep | ||||
