Custodian REIT PLC (LSE:CREI) increased its quarterly dividend target by 10% as it completed the acquisition of DRUM Income Plus REIT and reported continued strong rent collections from its portfolio of properties.
The UK commercial real estate investment company confirmed a 1.25p dividend per share approved for the quarter ending 30 September and said from the next quarter its target dividend per share will increase 10% to 1.375p.
This will result in target dividends per share of no less than 5.25p for the year ending 31 March 2022 and 5.5p for the year ending 31 March 2023.
Post-period the REIT completed the DRUM acquisition, which was sanctioned in court this week after shareholders approved the deal, adding a portfolio of 10 office, retail and industrial assets.
Custodian reported EPRA earnings per share for the past quarter of 1.6p, up from 1.4p the prior period, due to a £0.2m decrease in the doubtful debt provision.
Net asset value (NAV) total return per share for the period was 5.5%, comprising 1.2% dividends paid and a 4.3% capital increase, with the NAV per share rising to 106.0p from 101.7p.
Total NAV stood at £445.9mln at the end of September, up from £427.7mln, while the property portfolio stood at £565.3mln, down from £575.4mln after the disposal of nine properties, which simultaneously saw net gearing cut to 19.6% loan-to-value from 24.3%.
The property portfolio saw a £12.8mln aggregate valuation increase, representing 2.5% of the portfolio, mostly from general valuation increases.