GP landlord Assura (AGR) bucked the trend in an otherwise moribund real estate market, and pushed net rental income ahead by 17 per cent to £32.9m. The quality of the portfolio was demonstrated by a 2.6 per cent valuation uplift on a like-for-like basis, with demand for assets within the sector resulting in further yield compression.
The group benefited from a number of completed developments and acquisitions during the six months to September, and adjusted net asset value grew by 3.1 per cent to 47.2p a share from the March 2016 year-end. Assura strengthened its own finances with a new £200m revolving credit facility at a lower margin than the facility it replaced. And after the half-year it also issued £100m of 10-year notes at 2.65 per cent, its first issue in the US private placement market.
A total of £94.1m was spent on acquisitions and development, with acquisitions comprising 41 properties. There were 64 rent reviews that generated a 1.6 per cent uplift although a majority of the portfolio is subject to open market reviews, where the average increase was 1.1 per cent.
Analysts at broker Peel Hunt are forecasting adjusted net asset value at March 2017 year-end of 47.4p (from 45.8p a year earlier).
| ASSURA (AGR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 59.7p | MARKET VALUE: | £986m | |
| TOUCH: | 59.65-59.7p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 61p | LOW: 48p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.9% | TRADING PROPERTIES: | £0.9m | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 26% | NET DEBT: | 54% | |
| INVESTMENT PROPERTIES: | £1.23bn | |||
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p*) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 47.0 | 35.4 | 3.5 | 1 |
| 2016 | 47.3 | 41.7 | 2.5 | 1.1 |
| % change | +1 | +18 | -29 | +10 |
Ex-div: - Payment: - *Dividends paid quarterly, 0.55p paid on 19 October | ||||
