Sirius Real Estate ups dividend for tenth consecutive year as profit rises
Industrial park and flexible workspace provider Sirius Real Estate has provided its tenth consecutive year of dividend increases, upping it by 6.5 per cent.
The £1.3bn property company revealed that it had seen a 14.6 per cent increase in profit before tax in its full-year results this morning, totalling 110m euros (£93.8m).
Sirius, which runs operations in Germany and the UK, saw a seven per cent growth in rent roll, thanks in part to a two per cent increase in German occupancy from solid sales and much stronger retention of tenants.
Tenant retention was driven by supportive utility pricing during recent years of stress, Sirius said, and the company continues to hedge utility costs, which has led to increased loyalty from its tenants.
The company said it was looking at further growth options in both its markets, including asset recycling and value add reinvestment.
“The dividend uplift marks the tenth consecutive year of dividend progression, something many ‘prime’ portfolios can’t (and won’t be able to) claim,” said Panmure Gordon analysts Tim Leckie and Charlotte Adolpho.
Panmure currently have the company’s target stock price at 120p, compared to current share price of 98p.
“The main takeaway from the full-year results for us is that so far the UK ‘application’ of Sirius’ data focused customer led operational platform is working,” added Leckie and Adolpho.
“Properly managed ‘property risk’ can result in accretive yields and strong cash flow growth across markets.”
Andrew Coombs, CEO of Sirus, described the results as “very positive”, crediting the company’s platform’s ability “to drive substantial organic growth, which is underpinned by continued occupier demand for our high-quality and affordable products despite macro headwinds”.
“Looking ahead, our outlook remains positive: our active asset recycling programme, strong cash position and post balance sheet issuance of 59.9m euros of debt means our balance sheet is in rude health.
“There remain many levers we can pull to unlock value and grow occupancy and rental income within our current portfolio through our successful asset management programme, and we remain well positioned to fuel our accretive pipeline, supporting our next phase of growth and deliver attractive returns for shareholders.”