LISTEN: LondonMetric has posted a 19% increase in recurring profits to £48.5m in its annual results.
A repositioning of its portfolio helped the company increase net rental income by 10% to £77.7m in the 12 months to the end of March 2016.
This is equivalent to 3.1% like-for-like income growth across the portfolio.
As with many listed companies, the slowing growth in capital values in the UK created a paper dip in reported profit for the year.
It posted a revaluation surplus of £49.8m for 2016, compared with £118.4m last year, pushing profit down to £82.7m from £159.5m last year.
LondonMetric is pursuing a disposal programme which has seen it sell £200m of mature retail assets and move into more “last-mile” distribution assets.
Chief executive Andrew Jones said: “Over the year we have sold out of more mature assets and into logistics warehouses which lend themselves to the growth in e-commerce. We have also invested in the convenience market, which is one of the main beneficiaries of consumer shopping habits as they continue to evolve.
“Logistics is up at 52% of our total portfolio, whereas retail parks are down to 27%.”
Last-mile assets are set to grow over the coming year, said Jones. The firm has a further eight transactions in solicitors’ hands.
The rise in recurring profit pushed earnings to 7.8p per share, covering the coming dividend payment of 7.25p by 107%.
