First Half Highlights
Good first half with growth in both occupancy and net rent per sq ft
Strong revenue performance driving EBITDA, earnings and dividend growth
Adjusted profit before tax up 13% to £27.0 million
Cash flow from operating activities (after finance costs) increased by 10% to £28.9 million
12% increase in interim dividend to 13.5 pence per share
Acquisition of four store Lock and Leave portfolio in April 2016 for £21 million
o Nine Elms and Twickenham acquired by Big Yellow
o Canterbury and West Molesey acquired by Armadillo
Commenting, Nicholas Vetch, Executive Chairman, said:
"In this seasonally stronger six month trading period, the Group has delivered a solid performance with like-for-like revenue growth of 7% compared to the same period last year. Given that our central overhead and operating expense is largely embedded in the business, this reported revenue growth has led to a 12% increase in adjusted earnings per share and equally in the interim dividend.
I will leave it to others to comment on the momentous political events of the last six months. Only time will tell whether this translates into economic reversals, but we are on heightened alert.
It would not come as a surprise to us for activity levels and demand in the next year or two to be more subdued than in recent years. That said, we have been planning for this eventuality since 2008, and believe that the business is well placed to face down most challenges.
Whilst demand for self storage will ebb and flow, new supply in our key areas of operation, a key risk to the business, will, in our view, be constrained over the medium to longer term. We therefore look forward to future challenges with a mixture of caution and confidence."
