Workspace Group PLC (LON:WKP) swung to a full-year loss on lower rental income from its office spaces and a reduction in its property valuation.
It reported a pretax loss of £235.7mln in the year to end March 2021 from a profit of £72.5mln the previous year.
Trading profit after interest slumped 52% to £38.7mln as a result of a 33% decline in net rental income to £81.5mln, which included £19.9mln of rent discounts given to customers.
Its property valuation fell £258mln, or 10.0%, to £2,324mln driven by a fall in estimated rental values, while property yields remained stable.
It also had exceptional finance costs of £16.4mln related to an early repayment of private placement notes due June 2023.
"This has been an incredibly challenging year for the entire country, and we have seen first-hand the impact of COVID-19 on many of our customers,” said chief executive Graham Clemett.
“Our focus throughout the pandemic has been on our customers, and we are pleased that so many of them have decided that Workspace will continue to be their home as they look ahead to the post-pandemic recovery.
The company, which deferred paying an interim dividend, said it plans to pay a final/total dividend of 17.75p per share, down from the total dividend of 36.16p the previous year.
“We are seeing encouraging signs of recovery in customer demand and we have a lot to be optimistic about in the next year and beyond,” said Clemett. “We see significant opportunities for organic and inorganic growth as the economy comes back to life.”
Workspace Group said that the strong pick-up in new customer activity that it saw through the fourth quarter had continued into the new financial year.