THABANG MOKOPANELE

Property Correspondent

INGENUITY Property Investments, which on Friday posted a drop in earnings and headline earnings per share for the six months ended February, said it had continued to grow its asset base while maintaining a conservative approach to risk management.

The group’s property assets had grown 42% to R644m, but borrowings had increased to R316m, or 45% of loan to value, after allowing for cash on hand of R24m.

The increase in borrowings was due largely to the funding of its Santam property acquisition and had no significant effect on the earnings per share and headline earnings per share for the six months under review.

In October, the group acquired Santam Corporate Office Complex at Bellville, in Cape Town, for R177,5m. The buildings are fully tenanted by Santam, which had entered into five-year and 10-year triple-net leases with various options to renew.

The group’s basic earnings per share were down to 1,0c from 3,3c, and headline earnings per share also dropped to 1,0c from 1,4c previously. Profit slipped to R6,6m from R17,8m.

The group said the main differences between the basic and the headline earnings in the current period and that of the comparative period were due to the increases in interest rates and the net profit after tax on disposal of the listed investments held prior to its capital restructure.

The total value of investment properties amounted to R553m from R332m and investment properties under development amounted to R91m from R126m.

The group’s borrowings amounted to R316m from R144m, as a result of the funding of the Santam property acquisition.

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Source: Business Day