The Board has recommended a final dividend of 9.0p per share, an increase of 5.9% on last year's final dividend of 8.5p. If approved at the 2020 AGM, the total dividend for the year will be 17.7p per share, an increase of 5.4% on last year (16.8p).
This increase reflects growth in EPRA earnings, as discussed above. Total dividends for the year are covered 1.01 times by EPRA earnings per share and 1.03 times by adjusted earnings per share, after adding back the non-cash accounting share option charge of £1.2 million (2018: £0.6 million).
The total distribution for the year will be £54.4 million, 5.4% higher than last year (2018: £51.6 million) and is fully covered by adjusted EPRA earnings of £54.6 million. If approved at the 2020 AGM, the final dividend will be paid on 14 February 2020, with 5.25p as a PID and 3.75p as an ordinary dividend.
Other financial Highlights include:
Resilient performance demonstrates both the exceptional qualities of our portfolio, located in the heart of London's West End, and our proven long-term strategy:
Net property income up 4.5% to £98.0m (2018: £93.8m) following a 4.9% like-for-like increase in rental income
EPRA earnings1: £54.6m, +5.6% (2018: £51.7m)
Property valuations:
- Combined portfolio: £4.0bn: -0.6%2
- Wholly-owned portfolio: £3.8bn; broadly stable: -0.2%2
- Longmartin JV: £0.2bn (-8.5%)2
retail valuation down2:-19.4%
non-retail valuation stable: -0.6%2
Profit after tax: £26.0m (2018: £175.5m). Decrease due to revaluation deficits in the current year
Net assets: £3.0bn, -0.9%
EPRA NAV1: £9.82, -0.9% (2018: £9.91)
