Residential real estate investment trust (Reit) Indluplace Properties, managed to perform well in a difficult environment in the year to August.

The company declared a dividend of 92.61c per share in the year to August, up 10.5% on its pre-listing forecast. Its investment property portfolio grew 40%.

Indluplace had changed remarkably since its prior comparable reporting period.

The company acquired properties consisting of 1,757 units valued at more than R630m during the reporting period, increasing its residential units to 5,447 valued at R2.4bn.

“We remain upbeat about the growth opportunities for Indluplace. We have strong prospects in our pipeline and will continue to pursue the acquisition of yield accretive properties and portfolios that provide income from the day of acquisition,” said Indluplace CEO Carel de Wit.

“The first acquisition for the year is a building with 64 units in Randburg, an area that is showing strong rental demand,”

An analyst said Indluplace offered a strong investment case. “Operationally, Indluplace continues to deliver strong growth; the company achieved 10.5% distribution growth at their year-end which is strong given the economic environment. Portfolio occupancies continue to improve to a new high of 96.6% at year-end with minimal bad debts or arrears.

The company’s balance sheet remained very strong with only 6.3% gearing,” said Stanlib listed property analyst, Chloe Ma.

She said this provided the company with more than sufficient debt capacity to partake in future acquisitions. But Indluplace might acquire properties at a slower rate than before, given its cost of capital, Ma said.

source: Business Day