Land Securities Group has presented its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2005. In this period, the adjusted diluted net asset value per share increased 13.8% to 1694p, combined investment portfolio valuation increased 22.7% to £11.5bn and pre-tax profits rose 89.2% to £1,184.4m.
Highlights
- Adjusted diluted net asset value per share up 13.8% to 1694p *(31/3/2005: 1488p). Basic net assets per share were 1435p (31/3/2005: 1293p)
- Combined investment portfolio valuation increase of 22.7% over the reporting period to £11.5bn with valuation uplift from retail warehouses of 6.0%, shopping centers 6.3% and London offices 9.2%
- Pre-tax profits rose 89.2% to £1,184.4m (30/09/04: £625.9m), including gains on disposal of assets and revaluation surpluses, in accordance with IFRS
- Revenue profit increased by 16.1% to £218.5m (30/09/04: £188.2m)
- Adjusted earnings per share, calculated on revenue profits, up 24.5% to 34.50p (30/09/04: 27.71p); basic earnings per share were 177.26p, an increase of 82.6% (30/09/04: 97.06p)
- An interim dividend of 18.15p, up 74.5% (30/09/04: 10.40p), reflecting both underlying growth of 5% and the board's decision to pay a greater proportion of the dividend at the interim stage
- Major business development achievements included the successful completion of the acquisition of Tops Estates PLC and the acquisition of a private property company LxB; the Group's retail portfolio now includes 28 shopping centres, 32 retail warehouses and 11 supermarkets, with a development pipeline including six town center schemes totalling 330,110 m²
- Strong progress in the London portfolio to ensure the Group benefits fully from market recovery demonstrated by the acquisition of seven properties totalling £343.0m, notable advances in the 270,280 m² development pipeline and the successful letting and subsequent sale of 30 Gresham Street
- Important changes made to Land Securities Trillium's existing contracts, including the sale of its share in Telereal, with significant activity in the public sector impacting positively on the new business pipeline; notable opportunities with the Ministry of Defence and the Governments "Building Schools for the Future" initiative.
Commenting on the results, Peter Birch, Chairman of Land Securities, said:
"We have had an excellent start to this financial year exemplified by some notable events, including the acquisition of Tops Estates, our first acquisition of a quoted company for many years, which was followed swiftly by the acquisition of LxB.
"We have taken active steps in the first half to position the Group strongly for the future. We acquired retail property offering long-term asset management and development opportunities, as well as good rental growth prospects, and our experience of leasing space in our retail assets has been positive to date. In our London portfolio, we secured a number of significant lettings and expect positive rental growth to emerge in the City during the 2006 calendar year and to accelerate in the West End, where there is now a shortage of good quality, modern accommodation, a situation which our development pipeline is well positioned to exploit. With regard to total property outsourcing, we were pleased to have crystallised significant capital value from existing contracts while increasing our focus on markets with strong deal flow, thereby putting Land Securities Trillium into contention for a number of large new contracts from the public sector.
"Building on this strong progress, we remain positive about the prospects for the business."
Source: Land Securities
