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LONDON (Alliance News) - Urban Logistics REIT PLC said Friday its profit and rental income doubled in its recently ended financial year, amid a substantial lift in the value of its property portfolio.
For the year to the end of March, the logistics-focused real estate investment trust reported pretax profit of GBP18.7 million, up from GBP9.9 million the year before.
This was due to a increase in fair value of investment properties to GBP13.4 million from GBP7.2 million and net rental income that doubled year-on-year to GBP10.1 million from GBP5.0 million.
Net asset value per share as at March 31 rose to 137.96 pence from 122.49p the prior year. This lift in value was driven by a 40% increase in the value of Urban Logistics's portfolio to GBP186 million from GBP132 million.
During the period, the trust acquired seven new properties, bringing the amount of assets within its portfolio to 33, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 5.5 years.
Urban Logistics has declared a final dividend of 4.02 pence per share, bringing the total payout to 7.00p, up 11% from 6.32p the year before.
Looking ahead, Urban Logistics said it will look to acquire further assets, funding these acquisitions through equity raising and bank debt.
Market wise, the trust said it is difficult to predict the outcome of Brexit, and the uncertainty produced will continue to affect the property market in general.
"For Urban Logistics this may make it challenging to raise equity, however, we believe that the market for last mile logistics will remain strong due to end customer needs and our portfolio, which comprises urban logistics assets where tenants' activities revolve around essential everyday products, will remain attractive as e-commerce's share of the supply chain continues to grow," said Chair Nigel Rich.
Shares in Urban Logistics REIT were up 6.0% at 128.74 pence on Friday.
