Warehouse REIT keeps dividends on target as revenue rises

The AIM-traded specialist warehouse real estate investment trust said its IFRS profit before tax was £123.1m for the year ended 31 March, surging from £20.7m in the prior year, while IFRS earnings per share came in at 35.2p, compared to 8.6p.

Its EPRA earnings per share fell to 5.3p from 6.3p, however, and adjusted earnings per share slipped to 5.3p from 6.5p.

The board said dividends per share were in line with the 2020 financial year at 6.2p, as its total accounting return improved to 27.7% from 5.4%, and its total cost ratio increased to 29.5% from 27.1%.

Warehouse REIT reported “strong” rent collection performance, with 98.6% of the rent due for the year collected as at 24 May.

It noted that it raised gross proceeds of £153m through an equity issue in July, and a further £45.9m through a placing in February, claiming “strong support” from existing shareholders and new UK and international investors.

“This was an important year in the Group's development, during which we raised nearly £200m through well-supported equity issues,” said chairman Neil Kirton.

“We have made excellent progress with deploying this capital, while maintaining our strong capital discipline.

“We also continue to add value through active asset management and look forward to delivering for shareholders and our wider stakeholders in the coming year.”

The company’s total portfolio was valued at £792.8m at year-end, representing an 18.8% like-for-like increase.

That portfolio valuation comprised £751.9m in relation to the investment portfolio of completed assets, and £40.9m of development property and land, up from £433.5m and £17m at the end of the 2020 financial year, respectively.

EPRA net tangible assets per share increased 23.4% to 135.1p, which the board said was primarily driven by a revaluation increase of 24.7p per share.

Bank debt stood at £222m at year-end, and cash balances totalled £27.2m, resulting in a loan-to-value ratio of 24.6%, compared to 40.2% a year earlier.

“The group's successful rent collection throughout the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrates the resilience of the occupier portfolio and the economic relevance of the real estate,” said Andrew Bird, managing director of the company’s investment advisor Tilstone Partners.

“The pandemic has reinforced the attractions of the market, in particular by materially accelerating the growth of e-commerce, which is a key source of demand for warehouse space.

“We remain confident in our ability to add further attractive assets to the portfolio and to extract additional value from the group's existing holdings.”

At 1211 BST, shares in Warehouse REIT were up 3.52% at 141p.