Highlights
Strong revenue performance driving earnings and dividend growth
Adjusted profit before tax up 29% to £18.4 million
Cash flow from operating activities (after finance costs) increased by 27% to £17.8 million
30% increase in interim dividend to 10.4 pence per share
Refinancing completed reducing the Group's average cost of debt and extending the average maturity of facilities
Prominent 70,000 sq ft MLA Gypsy Corner store on A40 in West London opened on 1 April 2014 and early trading has been encouraging
Acquisition of 35,000 sq ft freehold store in Oxford
Acquisition of an existing freehold building in Cambridge for conversion to a 55,000 sq ft self storage centre
Commenting, Nicholas Vetch, Executive Chairman, said:
"In this seasonally stronger trading period, coupled with the improving demand environment for our product, we are pleased to have delivered a strong performance in the first half.
Since the onset of the financial crisis 7 years ago, we have been very focused on making improvements to our capital structure, with particular focus on the liability side of the balance sheet. We now have a sensible level of indebtedness, with a spread of credit maturities from a range of borrowing sources, hedged to accommodate both inflationary and deflationary pressures.
The many problems and challenges, economic and political, are well documented, however we are confident that we have a business model and capital structure that allows us to meet them.
Furthermore, the work on the brand, customer service, systems and operational strategy undertaken over the last few years, leaves us primed to take advantage of any improvement in self storage demand. The core task of filling the stores is both achievable and within sight and we believe will deliver attractive growth in earnings and dividend."
