After a torrid half decade, Helical Bar (HLCL) is "on the front foot making big money again", says veteran chief executive Mike Slade, who reckons the regional property market has finally hit bottom. The company’s adjusted book value rose from 250p to 264p - the first increase since 2006-07.
Note that the company's basic book value, reported below, didn't change. That's because all the gains came from development projects, which are not recognised in the accounts until their value is crystallised, usually through a sale. The "adjusted" figure includes a mark-to-market surplus - now £49.9m, up from £34.5m in March 2012 - on the company's trading and development stock.
Following a couple of major deals this month, some of that surplus will filter into the books for the current period. Helical has now let most of the space in a newly refurbished office building on Aldersgate in the City of London, triggering its entitlement to a share of the owner's profits. And it will receive another substantial sum when a site it has been managing at White City, West London, is sold by the owner, Aviva, which has just exchanged contracts.
Brokerage Peel Hunt has upgraded its adjusted net asset value (NAV) forecast for March 2014 by 7 per cent to 284p.
HELICAL BAR (HLCL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 279p | MARKET VALUE: | £329m | |
| TOUCH: | 279-280p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 302p | LOW: 164p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.0% | TRADING PROP: | £92.9m | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 29% | |||
| INVESTMENT PROP: | £362m* | NET DEBT: | 110% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 226 | -71.9 | -56.6 | 4.50 |
| 2010 | 228 | 7.9 | 9.1 | 4.75 |
| 2011 | 218 | -6.3 | -3.6 | 4.90 |
| 2012 | 217 | 7.4 | 6.5 | 5.15 |
| 2013 | 217 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.55 |
| % change | nil | -32 | -23 | +8 |
Ex-div: 3 Jul Payment: 26 Jul *Including £49.9m within joint ventures | ||||
