Shares in Intu Properties (INTU) fell nearly 5 per cent after the shopping mall landlord delivered a sub-par performance last year. Aside from a £568m uplift on the portfolio value, which was buoyed by the regional property recovery, there was not much to cheer.
The company has been selective in replacing tenants following a spate of retail bankruptcies in 2012-13. Signing up the likes of Hugo Boss, Superdry and Footasylum has succeeded in keeping rents high - 210 new long-term contracts were signed last year at an average 5 per cent premium to the previous passing rent - but at the expense of occupancy, which remains stubbornly low at 95 per cent. As a result, like-for-like net rental income - a measure of underlying top-line growth - fell by 3.2 per cent, and adjusted EPS fell to 13.3p, leaving the dividend uncovered.
Despite this dreary performance, Intu stayed busy raising finance to make more acquisitions. Raising £500m in a rights issue last April and extending debt facilities by £424m enabled the group to buy an interest in two UK shopping centres as well as one in Northern Ireland. The group still has the highest loan-to-value ratio in the sector, at 44 per cent.
Investec is reviewing its forecasts, but currently expects adjusted net asset value of 407p at the year-end (from 379p in 2014).
| INTU PROPERTIES (INTU) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 361p | MARKET VALUE: | £4.8bn | |
| TOUCH: | 360.5-360.8p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 377p | LOW: 270p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.8% | TRADING PROPERTIES: | nil | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 4% | |||
| INVESTMENT PROP: | £8.9bn* | NET DEBT: | 91% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p)** | Dividend per share (p)** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 301 | 446 | 62.2 | 13.7 |
| 2011 | 311 | 27 | 2.6 | 13.7 |
| 2012 | 316 | 153 | 16.0 | 13.7 |
| 2013 | 333 | 363 | 34.5 | 13.7 |
| 2014 | 347 | 594 | 48.0 | 13.7 |
| % change | +4 | +63 | +39 | - |
Ex-div: 16 Apr Payment: 28 May *Includes joint ventures **Prior figures adjusted for April 2014's rights issue | ||||
