LONDON (Alliance News) - Irish property investor Green REIT PLC on Tuesday reported a rise in net assets in its first half.
The trust upped its interim dividend by 7.7% to 2.8 euro cents from 2.6 cents the year before.
At December 31, the trust's EPRA net asset value per share stood at 182.9 cents, up 2.2% compared to 178.9 cents at June 30.
The property investor's net assets increased 2.4% in the same period to EUR1.28 billion from EUR1.25 billion.
Green REIT's total property value increased 4.2% in the half-year to EUR1.48 billion from EUR1.42 billion.
The trust's rental income was up 2.1% to EUR34.4 million compared to EUR33.7 million in the same six month period in 2017.
"The company is well positioned to take advantage of further opportunities and to continue to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns to its shareholders, underpinned by our high quality and well-located portfolio, the security of our income and our exciting development pipeline. While we remain alert to the prevailing wider economic and political uncertainty, Irish commercial real estate, particularly our sectors of focus, offices and logistics, continue to perform well," said Chair Gary Kennedy.
Green REIT's total return for the year to December 31 was 12.6%. In the year to June 30, its total return was 13.4%.
Looking towards the rest of the year, Kennedy added: "We report these results at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty globally. While we have seen some positive impacts from Brexit on the Dublin office market, and within our property portfolio, the ultimate outcome of Brexit may potentially be a headwind for the Irish economy.
"We remain alert to this possibility, but despite this uncertainty we look forward to the period ahead with cautious optimism and believe that the company continues to be well positioned to take advantage of further opportunities and to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns to its shareholders."
At December 31, Green REIT had a weighted average unexpired lease term of 8.7 years with a 97% occupancy rate.
Shares in Green REIT were down 1.6% Tuesday at EUR1.45 each.