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(Alliance News) - Hammerson PLC on Friday said it saw the largest-ever fall in net rental income and UK asset values on 2020 and losses more than doubled.
Hammerson is a London-based property development and investment company is focused on shopping centres and other retail properties.
Hammerson posted EPRA net tangible assets per share of GBP0.82 at December 31, down 29% from GBP1.16 a year before.
Pretax loss for 2020 widened to GBP1.73 billion from GBP779.3 million the year prior.
Revenue sank 26% to GBP182.9 million from GBP246.2 million, while net rental income halved to GBP157.6 million from GBP308.5 million. Portfolio value sunk 24% to GBP6.34 billion from GBP8.33 billion.
Chief Executive Rita-Rose Gagne said: "As our results show, Hammerson was hit hard. The retail sector, already in the grip of major structural change, has been significantly impacted by the restrictions imposed to tackle the pandemic, and we've also seen an increasing number of retail failures. Combined, this has resulted in the largest fall in net rental income and UK asset values in the group's history."
Hammerson declared a final dividend of 0.2 pence per share after cancelling last year's final dividend in March as the pandemic set in. This brings the total payout to 0.4p, sharply down from the prior year's 5.1p.
Going forward, Gagne said: "Our immediate focus in 2021 is leading Hammerson through Covid-19 to safety. This means further disposals to strengthen the balance sheet, managing refinancing, and sharpening our operations to maximise income. We will then focus on realising the quality of our destinations to drive the business forward. We are currently working on a thorough strategic and organisational review that will map out a route to future growth to transform the business in the context of what will remain a tough economic and structural backdrop."
Hammerson additionally announced the appointment of Habib Annous as a non-executive director, effective May 5.
This comes after Non-Executive Director Pierre Bouchut said he will not be standing for re-election.
Annous brings 30 years of experience in investment management across a range of sectors, the company said. Most recently, Annous was a partner at Capital Group, an active investment management business with assets under management of over USD2 trillion, from 2002 to 2020.
Hammerson shares were up 7.1% at ZAR7.20 each in Johannesburg on Friday, and were up 3.8% at 33.87p each in London.
By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com
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