The company paid 16.64c of the 37c to shareholders in September 2003, with the outstanding amount of 20.36c payable on 23 March 2004.

According to CEO Anthony Diepenbroek, the current figures are not comparable with the previous periods, due to the significant growth in the portfolio which has doubled from 50 properties valued at 750 million rand to 100 properties worth 1.4 billion rand.

"We achieved these highly satisfactory results despite a tough trading environment," commented Diepenbroek.

The good results, Diepenbroek said, were partly due to a recent bulk up in new acquisitions of quality properties and iFour's sound management of renewals, which has seen its occupancy levels rising from 94% to 96%.

Moreover, iFour improved the lease expiry profile to the extent that more than 35% of its leases expire beyond 5 years, which will ensure sustainable income over the long term.

In addition, the company has addressed a potential shareholder concern with regard to an overhang caused by the deferred shares, which were due to be issued in March 2004.

"iFour effectively eliminated the overhang, by purchasing the rights to the

6.3 million shares at a discount," he added.

Continuing on its growth strategy, iFour has recently purchased 75 million rand worth of quality properties, in a diversity of sectors, which meet the company's criteria of generating a sustainable income and capital growth over the long term.

"By maintaining a sound balance in our portfolio, we have managed to reduce our exposure to the office market where oversupply and low rental growth has been debilitating the industry for a number of years," Diepenbroek explained.

Looking at the year ahead, Diepenbroek said although capital growth was unlikely to be as high as the previous year, he anticipated that income growth would provide the backbone of performance for the sector.

"iFour has rigorously adhered to its core strategy of maintaining a balanced portfolio of quality properties, with the potential to yield a long term sustainable income for shareholders.

"iFour will continue to grow the size of its portfolio without compromising either the quality of the portfolio or the sustainability of it distributions," he concluded.