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(Alliance News) - UK Commercial Property REIT Ltd on Thursday said it underperformed against its benchmark in the first half of its financial year, with its retail warehouse portfolio and leisure holdings especially hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the six months ended June 30, the real estate investment trust's portfolio delivered a total return of negative 3.4%. This was worse than its MSCI benchmark, which delivered a negative 2.7% total return for the same period.
Chair Ken McCullagh said: "The main reason for this negative performance was the company's retail warehouse portfolio, which was impacted by the temporary closure of most stores for a period of time and resulted in a [negative] 9.4% total return, as well as the company's leisure holdings, which are heavily geared towards cinemas and restaurants and therefore also adversely affected by lockdown, providing a total return of [negative] 11.3%."
Net asset value per share declined by 6.6% to 83.9 pence from 89.8p a year before.
The company paid out dividends per share for the period of 1.38p, down 25% compared to 1.84p a year before.
McCullagh commented: "While these are uncertain and unprecedented times, I believe the company's strong portfolio and financial foundations will allow it to continue successfully navigating the current difficult situation and maintain its position as one of the UK's largest diversified REITs. Furthermore, [UK Commercial Property] also has a robust balance sheet with low gearing and significant financial resources. This has allowed us to continue paying a dividend to our shareholders throughout this crisis while still maintaining the company's financial strength, which provides both a healthy buffer against any further Covid impact and firepower for any opportunities that may arise."
Shares UK Commercial Property were up 1.6% at 66.15p in London on Thursday morning.
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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