Tritax Big Box REIT reported a 7.7% increase in operating profit in 2019.
The group, which owns a portfolio of ‘big box’ logistics warehouses in the UK, said profit for the year ended 31 December 2019 was £122.5m compared to £113.7m in 2018.
It also said its contracted annual rent roll was up 3.4% to £166.6m. During the year the company acquired developer db symmetry in a £322m deal, which meant EPRA NAV was down 1.2% to 151.06p and adjusted earnings per share was down 3.5% to 6.64p.
Without transaction related costs EPRA NAV would have increased 1.3%. The value of the group’s portfolio increased 15.2% to £3.94bn.
The group increased its dividend by 2.2% over the year to 6.85p and said it is targeting a dividend in 2020 of 7.00p per share.
On the cornoavirus (covid-19), chairman Sir Richard Jewson said the company was monitoring the situation. “It is impossible to know the extent to which the virus will develop, but our Investment portfolio is occupied by a diversified, high-quality Customer base, let on long leases,” he said.
On the development side of the business, the group delivered 4.7m square foot of logistics buildings during the year, which were 93% pre-let during construction, adding £22.5m to gross rental income.
It has 3.2m square foot of assets under construction, 92% of which are pre-let, and also gain planning permission for 2.6m square foot across its land bank. Its near-term development pipeline stands at 11.5m square foot with a gross rental income potential of around £65m.
BBOX : Profit up 7.7% at Tritax Big Box REIT