Hammerson rental income up while profit halves

Hammerson posted its half-year report for the six months to 30 June on Monday, with net rental income improving 5.1% to £167.7m during the period, or 2.1% on a like-for-like basis.

The FTSE 100 firm reported profit including valuation changes of £162.5m, a drop of 50.2%, with adjusted profit increasing 6% over the same period last year to £112.6m.

Adjusted earnings per share were up 5.1% to 14.3p, and the board announced an interim dividend of 10.1p, up 6.3% on the first half of 2015.

“I am pleased to deliver another set of solid results for this half year with good operational metrics and EPS growth,” said Hammerson chief executive David Atkins.

“Looking forward, we have confidence in the resilience of our business model, which will underpin our ability to deliver robust income returns during and beyond this period of political and economic uncertainty in the UK.”

As at 30 June, the company’s property portfolio was worth £8.96bn, a 7% improvement on the start of the period, while equity shareholders funds were worth £5.68bn, up 3%.

EPRA net asset value per share grew 2.4% to £7.27, with Hammerson’s gearing up five percentage points to 59% and the loan-to-value ratio up two percentage points to 40%.

“We believe our European diversity, best in class retail portfolio and low capital commitments positions us to produce consistent operational results, as we have done in recent years,” Atkins explained.

“During 2016, we successfully delivered our market-leading platform in Dublin, accelerated momentum in signing new leases and executed our disposal programme to support our financial flexibility.”

Atkins said Hammerson’s assets in Europe were continuing to perform strongly.

“In the UK - notwithstanding the market uncertainty - we have been reassured by the level of leasing and investment activity post the EU referendum, both in our portfolio and across the wider property market, highlighting continued appetite for high-quality retail property.”