Real estate investment trust British Land Co Plc. (BRLAF.PK, BTLCY.PK, BLND.L) on Tuesday reported a marginal rise in underlying pre-tax profit for the year. The company plans to exit Europe over time amid the tough economy.
Chris Grigg, CEO, said, ''Profits are up despite the significant level of recycling and at the property level we have continued to outperform. Our investment activity means the business is stronger going forward and our recent share placing gives us significant capacity to take advantage of the increasing opportunities we see coming to the market."
Profit before taxation decreased to 260 million pounds from the prior year's 479 million pounds. Underlying pre-tax profit rose to 274 million pounds from 269 million pounds last year, driven by strength of financing.
Profit attributable to shareholders declined to 284 million pounds from last year's 480 million pounds. Earnings per share declined to 31.5 pence from the previous year's 53.8 pence.
Net rental and related income declined to 281 million pounds from 286 million pounds last year. The company's revenue is derived from the rental of buildings.
Joint ventures and funds generated 67 million pounds, compared to 182 million pounds last year. Fees and other income slid to 15 million pounds from 16 million pounds.
The company said its portfolio valuation was 10.5 billion pounds, up 0.5 percent from last year. EPRA net asset value or NAV rose 0.2 percent to 596 pence per share.
According to the company, UK Retail portfolio valuation was at 6.1 billion pounds, amid constrained consumer spending and the growth in online sales. UK occupancy was 97.1 percent, reflecting recently completed developments.
UK like-for-like rental income was flat year-on-year, reflecting the impact of administrations in the second half, including one-off costs.
In Europe, the value of the retail portfolio was 17 percent lower at 255 million pounds, reflecting ongoing economic contraction across Southern Europe, where the company's PREF assets are located. Looking forward, the company considers Europe to be a subscale business and plans to exit over time. Grigg reportedly said the company is not in active discussions with any buyer.
In the Offices business, valuation was up 5 percent to 3.7 billion pounds. Like-for-like rental income increased 0.7 percent, primarily due to new lettings in the City and fixed and minimum rental uplifts in the West End.
The Board proposed a final dividend of 6.6 pence, bringing the dividend for the year to 26.4 pence, an increase of 1.1 percent.
The stock is up 0.9 percent in early morning trade at 626.50 pence.
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