Capital & Regional's (CAL) reshaping of its portfolio of shopping centres is now translating into a respectable pay rate. Management at the real-estate investment trust (Reit) increased the final dividend for 2015 above previous guidance of 3p, and now expects future annual hikes of between 5 per cent and 8 per cent.
That should lend further support to the share price, which has plateaued since the start of the year despite a total shareholder return of 29.8 per cent in 2015. That was thanks to a £74.8m revaluation of property, a full percentage point increase in occupancy levels and £5.4m in new rents at a heady premium to estimated market rates.
Looking ahead, a recent slowdown in transactional activity has created "limited guidance for the future direction of property valuations", although management believes this trend is due to the collapse of several deals that were aggressively priced on yield compression fears. Capital & Regional has nonetheless pulled off two deals in the period, securing the Marlowes shopping centre in Hemel Hempstead for £35.5m and the adjacent Edmonds Parade property for £10.5m.
Peel Hunt retains its year-end adjusted net asset value forecast of 77p, rising to 80p by December 2017.
| CAPITAL & REGIONAL (CAL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 62.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £438m | |
| TOUCH: | 62.5-62.75p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 72p | LOW: 53p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.0% | TRADING PROPERTIES: | nil | |
| DISCOUNT TO NAV: | 13% | NET DEBT: | 67% | |
| INVESTMENT PROPERTIES: | £898m* | |||
| Year to 30 Dec | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 56 | 23.0 | 6.0 | nil |
| 2012 | 51 | -13.0 | -3.0 | nil |
| 2013 | 54 | 7.3 | 2.0 | 0.65 |
| 2014 (restated) | 60 | 67.2 | 13.6 | 0.95 |
| 2015 | 72 | 97.6 | 13.9 | 3.12 |
| % change | +20 | +45 | +2 | +228 |
Ex-div: 14 Apr Payment: 13 May *Includes £28m in associates and joint ventures | ||||
