(Alliance News) - Town Centre Securities PLC said Tuesday it sunk to a loss in its recently ended financial year due to property valuation losses and the short term effect of retail company voluntary arrangements.
For the year to the end of June, the property investor reported a pretax loss of GBP12.5 million, compared to a profit of GBP18.4 million the year before.
Profit performance was hurt by a loss of GBP18.3 million on the revaluation of investment properties, compared to a gain of GBP5.9 million.
Revenue for the period edged upwards by 3.3% to GBP31.2 million from GBP30.2 million the prior year.
Net asset value per share as at June 30 was 354.0 pence, down 7.8% from 384p the same date the year before.
Town Centre's investment portfolio as at June 30 was GBP324.5 million, down 3.5% from GBP336.3 million the prior year. On a like-for-like basis, the company's investment portfolio value declined by 3.8%, driven by continued pressure from the retail sector, following CVAs and administrations.
Town Centre declared a final dividend of 8.50 pence per share, bringing the total payout to 11.75p, in line with the year before.
"We have delivered a robust underlying performance, whilst continuing to re-position the portfolio for the long-term and maintaining our 59-year dividend record, despite a challenging retail sector context and ongoing economic uncertainty," said Chair and Chief Executive Edward Ziff.
"Short-term fluctuations in valuations do not shake our confidence in our business model and conservative management approach. The strength of our portfolio and the quality of our development pipeline substantiate the potential for long-term growth. Although we see an ongoing role for the type of retail assets that we own in the areas we know intimately, we continue to increase our exposure to non-retail sectors," Ziff added.
Shares in Town Centre Securities were up 4.7% at 179.00 pence on Tuesday.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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