Year-on-year comparisons for Harworth (HWG) were again affected by one-off items, with the drop in headline profits due to an exceptional gain on the purchase of Harworth Estates Property Group in 2015.
However, underlying profits, which included a valuation gain, rose by 21 per cent to £45.8m, while adjusted net asset value was 12.5 per cent higher at 115p a share. In tandem with the ongoing regeneration of 22,000 acres of former coalfield sites, Harworth's disposals of £58.9m on mature residential and commercial sites helped to finance six acquisitions of £31.6m, including a half-share in the investment vehicle that owns Gateway 45, the largest live commercial development in Leeds.
A total of 619 residential plots were sold across six sites, while planning consent was secured for 65 new plots, with applications submitted for a further 1,200 plots. Harworth now has planning consent for more than 9,500 plots and another 8,000 in the planning pipeline. On the commercial side, sales included a 43.7-acre site to Lidl for £22.5m, while there is around another 10m sq ft of consented land within the portfolio. Sales momentum has continued into the new financial year, with a number of key deals already completed or agreed.
Analysts at Investec are forecasting Epra net assets per share of 132.5p at the December 2017 year-end (from 119.8p in 2016).
| HARWORTH (HWG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 99p | MARKET VALUE: | £289.4m | |
| TOUCH: | 98-100p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 116p | LOW: 70p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.8% | TRADING PROPERTIES: | £8.4m | |
| DISCOUNT TO NAV: | 14% | NET DEBT: | 12% | |
| INVESTMENT PROPERTIES: | £390m | |||
| Year to 31 Dec | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 9.7 | 3.5 | 0.6 | nil |
| 2015* | 103 | 77.6 | 3.1 | 0.51 |
| 2016 | 115 | 43.5 | 3.5 | 0.753 |
| % change | +12 | -44 | +13 | +48 |
Ex-div: tba Payment: tba *NAV and dividend adjusted for one-for-10 share consolidation on 3 May 2016 | ||||
