Unite Share News (UTG)

(Sharecast News) - Student accommodation provider Unite scrapped its interim dividend on Wednesday after revealing it had swung to an interim loss as the Covid-19 pandemic battered the value of its properties.

Unite said pre-tax losses for the six months ended 30 June came to £73.9m, a marked turnaround when compared to the pre-tax profits of £125.5m recorded at the same time a year ago.

Driving the change in fortunes, the company booked £102.1m of net valuation losses on properties, versus a gain of £53.3m for the equivalent year earlier period.

However, EPRA earnings, Unite's preferred metric, rose 22% to £74.8m.

EPRA earnings exclude fair value changes, disposals of investment property and limited other item considered non-core for an investment property company.

The FTSE-250 listed group expects to reinstate dividend payments following the start of the 2020-21 academic year, assuming occupancy and income were in line with expectations and the outlook was positive.

The Bristol-based company's net asset value per share for the period was 833p, up 13p year-on-year, while net debt ballooned to £1.68bn from £897m - however, the net debt figure was a 10% improvement on the £1.88bn sum reported on 31 December.

Chief executive Richard Smith said: "I am proud of the response of our business through this uniquely challenging period.

"We have growing visibility over our income for 2020/21 and our market-leading operating platform gives us the flexibility to rapidly adjust marketing strategies in response to changes in demand."

As of 0910 BST, Unite shares were up 0.53% at 945.50p.