Warehouse Reit (WHR) went on a spending spree in the six months to September, acquiring £133m in multi-let warehouses, part-funded by the proceeds of April's equity fundraising. Costs associated with those transactions dragged down the urban logistics specialist’s net asset value (NAV) and resulted in a negative total accounting return of 1.4 per cent. However, since the group is fully invested, management intends to raise dividends this year above the 6p a share paid in FY2019.
“The focus is to bring value through on the assets we have acquired,” said chief executive Andrew Bird. In other words, that means refurbishing properties in order to achieve higher rents at review. Management also hopes that will bring down the loan-to-value ratio of the portfolio, which rose to 40.2 per cent by the end of period.
Yet the potential benefits from refurbishing and reletting warehouses was indicated by 43 lettings of vacant space being agreed 8 per cent ahead of estimated rental values at the end of March. A further 57 leases were renewed, including a 10-year let to Alliance Healthcare at a 23.4 per cent uplift to previously contracted rents.
| WAREHOUSE REIT (WHR) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 106.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £256m | |
| TOUCH: | 106.5-107p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 111p | LOW: 92p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.6% | TRADING PROPERTIES: | nil | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 1.2% | NET DEBT: | 69% | |
| INVESTMENT PROPERTIES: | £447m | |||
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p)* |
| 2018 | 110 | 11.0 | 6.6 | 3 |
| 2019 | 105 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 3 |
| % change | -4 | -74 | -83 | - |
| Ex-div: | 28 Nov | |||
| Payment: | 27 Dec | |||
| *Dividends paid quarterly, ex-div and payment dates refer to second-quarter dividend of 1.5p. | ||||
