Listed property loan stock company Atlas Properties on Wednesday reported that its distribution for the six months to March increased 18,5% to 56,398c compared with the 47,599c in the comparable period of the previous year.

Atlas CEO Ian Raubenheimer attributed the surge in distribution growth to the company managing to fill some large vacancies in its portfolio.

"We had a couple of large vacancies that knocked us in the first half of last year. They have been filled and the benefit is now kicking in," said Raubenheimer.

He said Atlas was also getting better rentals out of some its shopping centres that had been upgraded. One of these was the company's Bayside Mall in the Western Cape, which was expanded. Property loan stock company Acucap Properties is also in the middle of a takeover bid for Atlas, which has a market capitalisation of R1,36 billion and a property portfolio worth R1,3 billion.

Raubenheimer said there were benefits to merging the two companies. "Institutional invest-ors are keen on larger more liquid portfolios," he said.

Paul Theodosiou, MD of Acucap, which owns 34,9% of Atlas, said Atlas had reported a "good set of results" which were "higher than expected".

"Atlas has normally had a quieter first half and then a stronger second half in terms of distributions."

"This might signal a change in that pattern to a more even distribution between the first and second halves," he said.

Atlas said building vacancies were 3,8% of lettable area, compared with 5% in the same period of last year. The company's retail property segment had also increased its rental revenue by 13,5%.