CAPE TOWN - Grit, the only London listed Africa-focused income distribution group lifted profits from operations by 57.3 percent to $17.3 million in the six months to end-June.
“Grit delivered a total return of 12.4 percent from the portfolio, in line with expectations despite currency headwinds and significant corporate activity, including a successful listing and capital raise on the London Stock Exchange on 31 July 2018, CEO Bronwyn Corbett said in a statement on Monday.
“Country and sector diversification and our proactive asset management initiatives have helped us to effectively manage the challenges faced in the retail sector across the continent,” she said,
A final dividend of 6.95 cents per share was declared, bringing the full-year dividend to 12.20 cents, an increase of 0.1 percent, which equates to an annual dividend yield of 9.55 percent on the JSE and 8.81 percent on the LSE, based on June 30 exchange rates and stock exchange share prices.
Income producing asset value increased by 28.5 percent to $825.2m, following the deployment of the$132.2 million raised during the LSE listing.
The total gross lettable area increased by 9.96 percent to 338 854 square metres and the property portfolio now comprises a total of 25 investments across seven countries and five asset classes.
Some.$600m of pipeline targets had been identified and transactions or secured exclusivity agreements had been concluded on 13 of these assets, focused on tenant driven opportunities, which are collectively valued at $470 million across both completed assets and development opportunities.