Safestore (SAFE) continues to expand its self-storage empire, and expects to add five new stores in the second half of its financial year, taking the total number of stores in the UK and Paris up to 121. However, its main focus will be on making use of the 1.44m sq ft of unlet space; that's the equivalent of around 30 new stores.
Progress towards this goal saw occupancy levels rise in the first half, from 68.9 per cent to 70.9 per cent, while at the same time average rental rates rose by 4.7 per cent to £26.02 per sq ft. The fall in headline profits reflected a smaller upward valuation on the portfolio, while underlying cash profits grew by 12.7 per cent to £29.3m.
With a general lack of awareness in the UK on self-storage - 70 per cent of new customers are using self-storage for the first time - Safestore has developed a digital marketing platform and more than 80 per cent of enquiries in the UK and 62 per cent in Paris are now made online.
Safestore also has an option to buy Space Maker's portfolio, which has 12 stores covering around 496,000 sq ft of lettable space. This is a logical move as Safestore has been managing the business since 2010 under a management services agreement.
Analysts at Peel Hunt have upgraded their forecasts for the full year to October by 4 per cent, and now expect underlying EPS of 18.7p.
| SAFESTORE (SAFE) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 350.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £730m | |
| TOUCH: | 350.5-351.8p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 370p | LOW: 273p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.9% | DEVELOPMENT PROP: | £12m | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 37% | |||
| INVESTMENT PROP: | £827m | NET DEBT: | 55% | |
| Half-year to 30 Apr | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 216 | 62.2 | 28.8 | 3 |
| 2016 | 256 | 49.1 | 22.0 | 3.6 |
| % change | +19 | -21 | -24 | +20 |
Ex-div: 7 Jul Payment: 12 Aug | ||||
