Land Securities Group, a leading commercial-property developer and investment company, has revealed that its pretax loss remained largely unchanged year-on-year. The decline in portfolio value due to property valuation was offset by increased revenue.
For the six months ended September 30, the FTSE 100 company reported a pretax loss of £193 million ($237 million), compared to a loss of £192 million in the first half of fiscal 2023. This relatively stable performance can be attributed to strong leasing activity, resulting in a revenue increase from £394 million to £412 million.
Despite the slight decline in portfolio value from £10.24 billion in March to £10.15 billion, Land Securities maintains an optimistic outlook. The net tangible asset value per share stood at 893 pence, showing a marginal decrease of 4.6% compared to the end of fiscal 2023. Additionally, the EPRA vacancy rates improved from 4.2% in March to 4.0% by the end of this reporting period.
In light of its performance, the board declared an interim dividend of 18.2 pence, reflecting an increment from 17.6 pence last year.
Looking ahead, Land Securities expects the full-year EPRA earnings per share to stabilize compared to the underlying figure of 50.1 pence in fiscal 2023. It also anticipates low-to-mid single digit percentage growth in rental values for its London and Major Retail divisions.