Restructured property loan stock company Alpina Investments has turned its fortunes around, reporting an after-tax profit of R7,9m for the year to June.

The company reported a loss of R15,2m in its previous financial year, but the sale of nonperforming properties in its portfolio as well as income from other properties had boosted its results.

Alpina CE Bryan Smith said that the company had acquired about 10% of listed property company Bonatla's property portfolio in December 2003.

But not all the properties were transferred to the company by the previous year-end. About 60% were transferred by June last year, and the transfer was complete and income from these was being reflected in the statement.

Alpina had sold three nonperforming Johannesburg properties: the first of these was a decrepit building in Eloff Street that did not have a tenant. Another building sold was Profurn House in Braamfontein, left vacant after its major tenant left. A Bond Street property in Randburg was also sold because its tenant, insurance group Hollard, was moving out to occupy its new head office.

Alpina's property portfolio is worth about R100m, but Smith said the company's goal was to grow the portfolio to about R1bn in the next 12-18 months.

Smith said that the company was buying the Orion group's R200m commercial property portfolio, which would boost the value of Alpina's holdings to about R300m.

Alpina, which would be renamed Orion Real Estate, has not declared any dividends or debenture distributions for the year under review.

Business Day
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge