Alpha Real Trust, talking about the six month period ended 30 September 2016 (which was a difficult one for many property companies), reports:
- Its NAV per share rose to 151.9p from 137.9p on 31 March 2016, an increase of 10.1%
- Adjusted earnings per share of 3.9p for the six months ended 30 September 2016 (3.0p: six months ended 30 September 2015)
- Declaration of a quarterly dividend of 0.6p per share, expected to be paid on 16 December 2016
- Basic earnings per share of 10.1p for the six months ended 30 September 2016 (11.2p: six months ended 30 September 2015)
- Mezzanine loan investment: post period end, Alpha Real Trust invested GBP1.7 million in a new mezzanine loan secured on a hotel located in central Newcastle. The loan has a 3 year term and earns an annualised return in excess of 15%
- German acquisition: post period end, Alpha Real Trust entered into an agreement to purchase, subject to planning, an industrial site which has potential for the development of a data centre
- Asset management successes: active leasing in both directly and indirectly held investments with benchmark outperformance recorded in Spain and the UK
- H2O valuation has increased by 5.7% from 31 March 2016 (on an underlying Euro basis) to EUR112.6 million, aided by strong leasing activity and continuing asset management initiatives undertaken by Alpha Real Trust. The Madrid shopping centre continues to attract record visitor numbers in the year to date, increasing 9.9% versus the same period in 2015
- 95.1% of the Company’s portfolio is allocated to investments in the UK and Europe that are or are expected to be income producing
- Income from investments, both equity and high yield debt, continue to add to the Company’s earnings position.
David Jeffreys, Chairman of Alpha Real Trust, commented: “Alpha Real Trust’s portfolio provides a balance of stable high yielding assets and investments that offer scope to deliver strong cashflows, capital value growth and high risk adjusted total returns.
During the period, Alpha Real Trust has achieved notable asset management successes within the portfolio’s underlying assets. The H2O Madrid shopping centre continues to attract record visitor numbers which has enabled our tenants to deliver strong retail sales growth and helped the centre secure new lease signings. Leasing success is also being reported in the IMPT and AURE portfolios in the UK, which bodes well for rental growth potential.
The Company’s earning position continues to be supported by underlying asset performance. In addition, capital recycling is anticipated to continue as a number of selected strategic divestments are planned to obtain prices that are accretive to returns.
The delivery of the “build to own” strategy for the PRS investments is being advanced with planning and project design improvements underway. This strategy will be considered across asset types when other investments are identified that represent similar opportunities to generate long term income streams off a lower entry cost.
Alpha Real Trust is committed to its disciplined strategy and investment principles which focus on opportunities that can deliver high risk-adjusted total returns, while seeking to manage risk through a combination of operational controls, diversification and preferred capital positions. The new mezzanine loan investments in the UK and the site acquisition in Germany demonstrate our approach to secure a balanced risk weighted portfolio of assets that meet Alpha Real Trust’s selective investment criteria and achieve a balance of diversified income and potential for capital growth.
Alpha Real Trust has the financial reserves and agility to capitalise on investment opportunities that meet its investment criteria. We remain well placed to find value for our investors across asset backed investment and debt markets in the UK and Europe.”
ARTL : Alpha Real Trust NAV up 10% in difficult period