Safestore ups dividend, says results on track

Safestore increased its dividend as the household storage company reported higher half-year earnings and predicted annual results in line with expectations.

Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 10.9% to £45.9m in the six months to the end of Aprii as revenue rose 8.5% to £79.3m. Pretax profit jumped to £99.7m from £38.2m a year earlier driven by an increased gain on investment properties.

The FTSE 250 group increased its interim dividend by 7.3% to 5.9p a share and said it expected annual earnings for the year in line with its expectations. Safestore shares rose 4.7% to 749.5p at 08:10 BST.

Safestore continued operating during Covid-19 lockdowns at reduced capacity. Since the easing of restrictions business has picked up in Spain, France and the UK with enquiries up from a year earlier in those markets, it said. On 15 June, group like-for-like occupancy was up 1.3% from April and constant currency revenue rose 0.4% in the period from 1 May to 15 June compared with a year earlier.

Chief Executive Frederic Vecchioli said: "We will continue to monitor carefully and closely any economic impact of Covid-19 on our internal forecasts over the coming months. However, our business model remains highly resilient with multiple drivers of demand and we believe the group, whilst not entirely immune, is strongly positioned to withstand any economic downturn. As it currently stands, the board anticipates earnings for the full year being in line with its expectations."