Real Estate Investors (RLE), the Midlands-focused REIT, has reported a 4.6% drop in net asset value (NAV) in half-year results.
The company’s EPRA NAV fell from 67.4p per share at the end of 2019 to 64.3p at 30 June 2020. The fall was mainly driven by a 3% drop in its portfolio valuation, from £228.9m to £221.8m.
It also contributed to a £3.8m pre-tax loss for the six-month period. EPRA earnings per share was up 2.3% on the same period in 2019 to 2.2p, while revenue was up 1.2% to £8.2m.
In line with the group’s revised dividend strategy announced in June 2020, a quarterly dividend payment of 0.5p per share in respect of Q2 will be made, with the expectation that this will also be the level of dividend for Q3 and with the option to make a larger final quarter dividend payment once the financial year has been completed.
Its loan to value (LTV) is now 44% (net of cash) up from 42% at the end of 2019.
Portfolio highlights
The group completed 18 lease events in the period, significantly improving the weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) of the portfolio to 5.06 years to break (June 2019: 4.04 years).
Occupancy fell slightly to 93.45% due to lease events. It has exchanged, or is in legals, on the sale of £9.1m of property.
Rent collection update
The group has collected 78.54% of rent bill for the quarter March to June 2020, with 12.14% with a payment deferral agreement in place and 9.32% still owed.
In the quarter June to September, 83.56% of rent has been collected, with 3.31% deferred and 13.13% owed by companies that RLE says are “established tenants who have the ability to pay but are delaying doing so, using the ongoing restriction imposed by the government on the ability of landlords to recover rent”.
It added that the arrears will be pursued at the appropriate time and it was confident in securing full rental payments.
RLE : Real Estate Investors posts 4.6% fall in NAV