LondonMetric has reported a 6.7% increase in rental income to £76.9m for the six months ended 30 September, with group profit nudging upwards to £53m.
The group said its focus on “winning sectors” such as urban logistics had helped drive earnings growth.
During the period the firm completed the £285m acquisition of CT Property Trust, which helped boost its portfolio valuation from £3bn at 31 March to £3.2bn.
Strong occupational activity delivered income of £3.6m pa and 2.9% like-for-like income growth, with rent reviews pushing income up by 19% on a five-yearly basis.
Occupancy across the estate was 99%, with a WAULT of 11 years.
Chief executive Andrew Jones said: “We have continued to be active and opportunistic, looking to sell mature and non-core assets and remaining alert to quality opportunities that are being mis-priced by either the real estate or stock markets.
“Our portfolio is in great shape and its alignment to well-positioned triple-net-income assets has helped to deliver a positive set of financial results, further increasing our net rental income, earnings per share and covered dividend. This puts us on track for a ninth consecutive year of dividend progression; a performance that puts us in a rarefied club.”
He addded: “Looking forward, we will continue to allocate capital to sectors that are benefiting from evolving consumer behaviours which provide an attractive tailwind for returns and dividend growth. We remain alert, interested and open minded to using our strong financial position to access new opportunities where the market is unfairly discounting and where our proactive approach can deliver growth and value.”
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