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(Alliance News) - Tritax Big Box REIT PLC on Thursday reported a rise in its net asset value per share and a fall in half-year profit, and announced it had sold an investment asset for GBP84.3 million.
Net asset value per share on June 30 was 180.92 pence, up 1.5% from 179.25p on December 31. Whilst net tangible assets per share were 180.92p on June 30, up 0.9% from 179.25p on December 31.
The real estate investor's portfolio was valued at GBP5.05 billion at June 30, down 0.2% from GBP5.06 billion on December 31.
Pretax profit in the six months ended June 30 dropped 78% to GBP102.4 million, from GBP458.7 million year-on-year. Tritax Big Box REIT said profit in the comparative period benefitted significantly from a substantial gain on revaluation of the portfolio.
Chair Aubrey Adams said: "While the macro-economic environment remains challenging, customers continue to demand high-quality, well-located, and sustainable logistics space. With supply remaining constrained, we are seeing strong interest in our development sites supporting our future rental income and capital value growth."
Net rental income was GBP109.3 million, up 7.7% from GBP101.5 million from the prior year.
Tritax Big Box REIT declared an interim dividend of 1.75p per share, amounting to a total dividend of 3.50p over the first half, up 4.5% from 3.35p the year before.
The company also announced that it had successfully exchanged contracts for the sale of an investment asset let to Howdens in Raunds for GBP84.3 million. The purchase is "a leading UK institutional investor in real estate."
The investment asset is a 659,000 square foot logistics building that Tritax Big Box has owned for seven years, with an unexpired lease term at exchange of around 23 years.
Chief Executive Officer Colin Godfrey said: "We constantly seek ways to optimise our portfolio to crystalise value and recycle capital into higher returning opportunities. The disposal, which was in line with the book value at both December 2022 and June 2023, demonstrates the attractiveness of our assets and our ability to fully realise their value."
The company said it was confident of achieving further progress in the rest of the year, despite macroeconomic headwinds.
"The outlook for the sector remains positive, with the structural tailwinds that drive occupier demand remaining in place, which in turn is supportive of attractive levels of rental growth over the long-term. We therefore believe we are well placed to continue generating long-term value for shareholders," said Tritax Big Box REIT.
Shares in Tritax Big Box REIT were up 1.5% at 137.44p in London on Thursday morning.
By Will Neill, Alliance News reporter
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