Hyprop, which has over the past 10 years delivered an annual basis distribution growth of about 11%, attributed the strong distributions to revenue growth driven by a combination of factors.
Hyprop CEO Pieter Prinsloo said yesterday that Hyprop had maintained low vacancies at its shopping centres because of “good tenant retention in light of unabated demand for retail space”.
Prinsloo said Hyprop, whose portfolio includes top retail properties such as Canal Walk Shopping Centre, Hyde Park, The Mall of Rosebank and The Glen, had successfully enforced contractual escalations in rentals and been able to secure higher rentals when leases were renewed.
He said the company had also kept operating costs at its centres “relatively stable”.
Angelique de Rauville, MD of Investec Listed Property Investments, said the group was expecting a lot of property firms and funds to start declaring their results from next week.
“This update is pretty much going to set a precedent for things to come. While Hyprop is likely to be one of the top performers there are other stocks also likely to surprise on the upside,” she said.
The listed property sector has lost about 26% of its value in the past two months on the back of emerging market jitters and the threat of rising interest rates.