Lok'nStore Group PLC (LON:LOK) said annual profits rose by more than a third on the back of increased occupancy rates at its stores, giving its shares a boost.
The self-storage group on Monday reported a 34% rise in pretax profit to £5.3mln in the year to the end of July on revenues 6.6% higher at £17.8mln.
READ: Solid trading key to Lok'nStore success
The company raised the final dividend to 7.67p a share from 7 pence last time, taking its full-year dividend to 11p a share from 10p a year ago.
The storage firm, which opened three new sites during the period, said it now has a pipeline of 13 stores, which are expected to deliver further growth in revenue, profit and assets. The added that its adjusted net asset value per share increased by 15.3% to £4.80 during the year.
“We have created a strong platform for an exciting period of growth for Lok'nStore with revenue, profits and asset values all moving ahead. We have achieved a notable acceleration in our store pipeline to 13 sites which will increase operating space by 32.4% over the coming three years. This will add considerable momentum to sales and earnings growth,” CEO Andrew Jacobs said in a statement.
“Lok'nStore's strong balance sheet and strategy of opening new landmark stores position the group well for future growth."
In a note to clients, analysts at FinnCap said that with the UK market still undersupplied, the outlook for value creation from both the existing stores and potential new ones remains very strong. As such, the broker raised its NAV-based target price to 609p from 521p, factoring in the latest valuation and rolling forward a year.
Shares in the group were 10.1% up at 412.0p in early deals.