Property Reporter
LIBERTY International, which owns 100% of Capital Shopping Centres, one of the UK's leading shopping centre businesses, was upbeat about its prospects yesterday when it announced a 29% increase in earnings a share before exceptional items for the six months to June 30 this year.
The property company, which had a 50% SA shareholding, also reported that its net asset value had increased to a record 866p for each share on the new valuation basis compared with the equivalent starting position of 798p at December 31 last year.
"Overall investment property valuations have effectively increased in the six-month period by some £203m (4,8%) with a 6,2% increase in the market value of our UK regional shopping centres ," said Liberty International chairman Donald Gordon.
"Liberty International's uniquely strong and stable business platform, the quality of our development projects and the group's powerful financial resources provide for the successful and tightly controlled expansion of our future activities."
SCMB Securities property analyst Len van Niekerk said yesterday the results reflected a "solid business" .
"They were ahead of my expectations," he said.
Van Niekerk said he believed the share price was fairly valued at about 640p.
He said the main driver in terms of Liberty International's share price would be the rand/sterling exchange rate .
Angelique de Rauville, the managing director of Provest, a listed property asset management company, which was part of Investec Bank and conducted monthly research on the listed property sector, said the results were in line with expectations.
"Liberty will continue delivering stable returns and modest earnings growth year on year, but the investment is not comparable with interest income generating property unit trusts and property loan stocks," she said.
"It's a dividend-producing company and is purely a randhedged stock," she said.
She said potential investors into Liberty International would have to take a view on the rand.
De Rauville said that if investors wanted to buy shares, they should buy shares while the rand was strong.
Profit before taxation and exceptional items increased by 40% to £53,2m from £37,9m for the same period last year. The company said this reflected mainly growth in net property investment income and the effect of raising £157,5m of additional equity in November last year.
Net property investment income including joint ventures increased by 13% to £121,8m from £108,1m for same period last year with an underling increase of 5,3% on a like-for-like basis.
The company reported basic earnings for each share, including exceptional profit, of 15,1p compared with 12,96p for the same period last year.
The interim dividend rose 4,4% from 11,25p for each share to 11,75p.
Jul 17 2003 07:48:22:000AM Nick Wilson Business Day 1st Edition
Publisher: Business Day
Source: Business Day
Liberty lifts earnings a share by 29%.
Posted On Thursday, 17 July 2003 02:00 Published by eProperty News
Profit before tax and items up 40%.
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