U+I (UAI) attracted criticism at the half-year stage when it stuck to its target of achieving £65m-£70m of development and trading gains by the February 2018 year-end, when only £9.4m was booked in the first half. Actions speak louder than words, and gains in the full year rose to a record £68.3m, nearly double the previous year. Shareholders have also been rewarded with a 12p-a-share special dividend, which takes the yield for the year to 8.3 per cent, more than covered by after-tax earnings.
The core business model involves identifying unloved and overlooked sites principally around London, Manchester and Dublin, and this means plenty of legwork as well as establishing working relationships with local authorities. In terms of development gains, U+I is aiming to achieve £125m-£150m in the three years to the end of 2021, developing on the way some of the 30-plus projects in the pipeline with an estimated gross development value of over £7bn.
Analysts at Peel Hunt are forecasting adjusted net asset value (NAV) of 301.9p per share at the February 2019 year-end, up from 300.1p in 2018.
| U+I (UAI) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 215p | MARKET VALUE: | £269m | |
| TOUCH: | 213-215p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 215p | LOW: 170p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.7% | TRADING PROPERTIES: | £216m | |
| DISCOUNT TO NAV: | 29% | NET DEBT | 31% | |
| INVESTMENT PROPERTIES: | £232m** | |||
| Year to 28 Feb | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2014 | 262 | 19.5 | 14.9 | 5.6 |
| 2015 | 276 | 34.8 | 26.8 | 5.9* |
| 2016 | 291 | 25.8 | 17.5 | 5.9* |
| 2017 | 278 | -1.7 | -2.4 | 5.9* |
| 2018 | 303 | 48.2 | 32.2 | 5.9* |
| % change | +9 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | 19 Jul | |||
| Payment: | 17 Aug | |||
| *Not including special dividends of 8p in 2015 and 2016, 2.8p in 2017 and 12p in 2018. **Includes investments in joint ventures of £92.8m | ||||
