Stenprop holds dividend steady even as earnings wilt

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Property investor Stenprop held its annual dividend steady, despite its earnings slipping on the back of lower rental income.

The company declared a dividend for the year through March of 6.75p per share, unchanged on-year.

Pre-tax profit fell to £16.1m, down from £28.8m, as Stenprop booked losses on the sale of some of its assets.

Net rental income from continuing operations eased back to £33.0m, down from £33.9m.

Property-related diluted adjusted EPRA per share, an underlying measure of performance, fell to 6.69p, from 6.79p.

The company said it had made 'solid' progress on its efforts to become 100% invested in UK multi-let industrial (MLI) property assets, having sold some retail properties.

'We are pleased to have met the key milestone targets articulated in late 2017 and expect to complete the transition into a 100% UK MLI business over the next two years,' chief executive Paul Arenson said.

'The new financial year is likely to be challenging with Covid-19 and Brexit headwinds but we are well positioned to meet these challenges with exposure to resilient assets, a strong balance sheet and free cash of approximately £70m.'

'While we acknowledge the need for caution, we are keen to start taking advantage of the conditions to acquire additional MLI estates at attractive risk-adjusted pricing.'