Having played the property recovery so nimbly, Aim-traded London & Stamford intends to move to the main market in September.
Announced in tandem with these full-year results, the company's canny bottom-of-the-market purchases have resulted in a £102m valuation uplift - including the impact of its stake in giant shopping centre, . One of its first acquisitions, an office building in Leeds, was disposed of post-period - netting an 85 per cent return on equity.
The NAV rose ahead of some analysts' expectations and net rental income swelled to £17.3m - following a busy year of deals. However, management cautioned that the property market is overvalued, saying that the group will concentrate on acquiring and portfolios where there is less competition pushing up prices. This strategy is epitomised by its acquisition of the £208.5m Radial industrial portfolio a fortnight ago. Moreover, there's a big cash pile to fund future acquisitions and director Martin McGann says the company boasts potential firepower of £900m, when its Middle Eastern joint venture is taken into account.
Broker Nomura forecasts an NAV of 118p in 2011.
| LONDON & STAMFORD (LSP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 122p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 610m | |
| TOUCH: | 121-122p | 12M HIGH | 137p | LOW: 110p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4% | TRADING STOCK: | nil | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 3.6% | |||
| INVEST PROPERTIES: | £358m** | NET CASH: | £155m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008* | 97.5 | 1.04 | 0.14 | 1.60 |
| 2009 | 102 | 20.1 | 8.40 | 4.00 |
| 2010 | 120 | 104 | 24.8 | 4.40† |
| % change | +18 | +417 | +195 | +10 |
*Five month period **Excludes £89.3m investment in associates †Paid on 1 April | ||||
