(Alliance News) - German-focused property investor Sirius Real Estate Ltd on Monday raised its interim dividend amid a rise in income and the value of its portfolio.
For the six months to the end of September, pretax profit dropped by 22% to EUR62.2 million from EUR79.7 million a year before, as revaluation gains on investment properties shrank to EUR31.9 million from EUR58.2 million.
Operating income for the period grew by 11% to EUR43.9 million from EUR39.5 million, while funds from operations rose by 7.4% to EUR29.1 million from EUR27.1 million.
As at September 30, Sirius's net asset value per share increased by 6.6% to 81.18 euro cents from 76.18 cents the same date the year before, and 5.0% from 77.35 cents at the end of March.
At the end of September, Sirius Real Estate's portfolio value increased by 15% to EUR1.23 billion from EUR1.07 billion the prior year, and 3.4% from EUR1.19 billion at the end of March.
London and Johannesburg-listed Sirius declared a dividend of 1.82 euro cents per share, up 2.8% from 1.77 cents a year before.
Looking ahead, Sirius said that state support in Germany has limited the economic hit from Covid-19, leading to a return of confidence in the German real estate market. With occupier demand for occupational and flexible space remaining strong, the group is well positioned for the second half of its financial year, and is trading in line with expectations.
Shares in Sirius were up 3.8% at 86.69 pence in London early Monday. In Johannesburg, the stock was up 1.9% at ZAR17.42 on Monday.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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