St. Modwen cuts dividend after posting half-year loss
Property investment and development business St. Modwen said this morning it has been able to rebuild momentum quickly after the major disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw it post a half-year loss of £134.5m.
The company said that despite a positive start to 2020, by the end of March the growing momentum in the business was disrupted by the “unprecedented social and economic challenges” caused by coronavirus, forcing it to pause virtually all activity on its sites.
The company said: “Although the near-term outlook remains highly uncertain, the structural growth trends in our key sectors, residential and industrial/logistics, remain positive and with respect to the latter have even accelerated, so with a solid financial base, this leaves us well placed for the future.”
In its results for the half year ending May 31, losses amounted to £134.5m, compared to a profit of £23.1m.
The company’s net asset value per share fell 13% to 423.1p, while its adjusted EPRA earnings dropped to £4.7m, down from £16.2m.
St. Modwen Properties declared an interim dividend of 1.1p per share, down from 3.6p.
Rob Hudson, interim chief executive of St. Modwen, said: “Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic our focus has been on protecting our people and customers and preserving our strong financial position. Whilst our results for the half year reflect the disruption of the crisis, our decisive actions have worked to rebuild the momentum achieved over recent years, with strong demand for industrial/logistics space and new homes.
“Although the wider economic outlook will remain uncertain for some time to come, structural growth trends in these key markets for us remain positive and, to an extent, have even accelerated further. With our proven strategy and solid balance sheet, we stand well placed for future growth.”
