Industrial property expert secures DHL lease in face of unwanted expiry.
Property For Industry, the listed industrial property investor, increased annual profit 21.5%, with an uplift in the value of investment properties strengthening its balance sheet.
Net profit rose to $72.8 million, or 17.25 cents per share, in the 12 months ended December 31, from $59.9 million, or 14.55 cents, a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Operating revenue rose 4.9% to $66.9 million.
Non-operating earnings jumped 48% to $43 million, reflecting a $46.5 million gain on the value of investment properties to $987 million.
Property For Industry merged with Direct Property Fund to create an $800 million industrial property empire in 2013. The company invested $48.2 million in acquiring five properties across Penrose, Auckland, and one in Manukau, during the latest year. At balance date it had 84 properties, from 79 in December 2014, with rent increasing 9.9% to $72.3 million.
Property For Industry raised $47.9 million in September through a one-for-12 rights offer, at $1.44 per share. The cash raised was used to pay down bank debt related to recent acquisitions. The company has a bank loan facility of $375 million, with $331.7 million drawn down, from $313.5 million a year earlier.
Property For Industry’s credo
“The right property in the right location on the right terms,” is Property for Industry’s credo. It has many case studies from its portfolio to illustrate its “property that works” approach according to a Property For Industry spokesperson.
One example is Property For Industry’s service to tenant DHL.
“DHL is Property For Industry’s fourth largest tenant,” says the spokesperson. “It has been at 7-9 Niall Burgess Road, Mt Wellington, Auckland, since 1996.
“What caused consternation for DHL was its lease expiry date set for October 2016 in view of the fact that it wanted to remain at its premises at Niall Burgess Road.
“Property For Industry undertook months of intricate, amicable and multi-faceted deliberations on behalf of DHL, which saw DHL’s lease being extended until March 2020, with rights of renewal.”
