British Land posts jump in 1H profits, ups dividend

British Land posted a big jump in first half profits on the back of "strong" rental growth and cost control.

The property developer posted a 13.3% rise in underlying profit growth to reach £136m, as like-for-like rental growth grew by 5% and its cost ratio improved by 650 basis points to 19.7%.

As a result, earnings per share clocked in at 14.5p for the half, rising by 12.4% versus a year before.

Company boss, Simon Carter, credited the company's focus on sectors with pricing power for its performance, while pointing out what he said was a stronger balance sheet thanks to well-timed disposals.

He added that British Land was heading into the back half of its financial year with a "strong" lease pipeline, although it was aware of the weaker macroeconomic environment.

The company leased 1.5m square feet 14.75 ahead of estimated rental values with another 1.1m sq ft. under offer.

Demand for Campuses remained "robust", while Retail Parks were still benefitting from retailers' omni-channel approach and urban logistics was still facing an "acute" lack of supply.

During the period, the company also raised £765m of new finance on good terms.

It had also fully hedged its interest rate costs for the following year and hedged 77% of its debt for over the next five years.

Upward pressure on property yields would partially offset rental growth, with the amount of pressure dependant on where medium-term interest rates settled.

ERV over the next 12 months were seen growing by 2-4% in Campuses, 1-3% in Retail Parks and 4-5% in Urban Logistics.

The dividend for the half rose from 10.32p to 11.60p.