Tritax Big Box H1 profits grow, hikes interim dividend

Real estate investment trust Tritax Big Box said on Wednesday that profits had grown in the six months ended 30 June, leading to a slight year-on-year hike in the group's interim dividend.

Interim operating profits surged 29.6% to £123.8m, while adjusted earnings per share were up 10.4% at 4.35p, as contracted annual rent roll increased 34.7% to £303.4m and Tritax's portfolio value grew 27.2% to £6.4bn.

However, Tritax Big Box did note that its loan-to-value ratio had contracted slightly, dropping from 31.6% in H123 to 29.9% in H124. EPRA cost ratio was broadly flat at 12.5%, down from 12.6% at the same time a year earlier.

As a result, Tritax declared an interim dividend per share of 3.65p, up 4.3% year-on-year.

"This has been a transformational half year for Tritax Big Box," said chairman Aubrey Adams. "Looking forward, in addition to the growth from within our investment and development portfolios, we continue to explore additional ways of leveraging our expertise into near adjacencies, including power and datacentres, where we are actively progressing potential opportunities."

As of 0900 BST, Tritax shares were up 1.63% at 162.50p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com