TR Property beats benchmark despite earnings dip – TR Property shared its annual financial report for the year ended 31 March 2021, which revealed earnings for the year were 12.25p per share, 16% lower than the prior year earnings of 14.62p. However its NAV total return was 20.7%, ahead of its benchmark total return of 15.9%, and the share price total return was even stronger at 28.3% as the discount narrowed over the year. The board announced a final dividend of 9p per share, bringing the full year dividend to 14.20p per share. Gearing at the end of the year stood at 16.5% having started the year at 7.6% and fluctuated considerably throughout the year, ranging between around 7.6% and 17.8%, as market sentiment ebbed and flowed. The average discount over the year was 10.2% but closed at 6.1%. No share buy-backs were made, although the discount was wide at various points during the year.
Chairman, David Watson, said: “Stock markets have taken great comfort from the huge amount of central bank stimulus and state aid for both corporates and individuals. Since November 2020, this sense of support has been augmented by optimism following the announcements and subsequent rollout of a range of vaccine programmes.
The crisis has forced a dramatic change in the way we work, consume and relax. Over the last year our management team has pondered not only the pace of these changes across a wide range of property sectors but also their sustainability once the world reverts to ‘the new normal’.
Over the last quarter of the financial year under review and into the start of the new one, we have seen very dramatic share price movements as investors rotated from companies offering the safety of secure income towards those offering greater risk, particularly where the companies were trading at large discounts to their asset value.”
TRY : TR Property beats benchmark despite earnings dip