LONDON (Alliance News) - Ediston Property Investment Company PLC on Thursday said its net asset value grew in its recently ended financial year as it shifted an investment focus.
NAV per share in the year to the end of September rose to 115.3 pence from 111.3p reported for the same period a year earlier.
Ediston Property upped its annual payout to 5.75 pence a share, up 4.5% compared to 5.5p paid the year ago. The company said it will pay a further monthly dividend of 0.48p in January.
The NAV total return per share over the year was 8.9% and the share price total return was 7.7%.
Share price stood at 109.0p as at September 30. Shares were trading on an average 1.6% discount to NAV during the year.
The stock was trading 0.2% higher on Thursday at 102.75p a share.
Fair value independent valuation of the company's property portfolio stood at GBP333.9 million as at September-end, representing a like-for-like increase of 6.8% year-on-year.
During the year there was a shift in investment focus into the retail warehousing market, the trust noted. The portfolio weighting to this sector increased to 73% from 55%, with a consequential reduction in provincial offices.
During the year, Ediston Property said it acquired four prominent retail parks for a total of GBP144.0 million and a development site for GBP2.8 million.
The company also said it has completed 13 lease transactions securing GBP3.1 million of rental income.
"The company's portfolio has attractive defensive elements with a bedrock of leases let to strong covenants and few imminent lease expiries," said Chairman William Hill.
"The investment manager has demonstrated that it has the skills to execute on these opportunities and I expect to be reporting on a number of further successful initiatives during the forthcoming year," added Hill.