The Derwent London dividend cover remains strong and, with 80 Charlotte Street due to reach practical completion shortly, they have good visibility in relation to rental growth through 2020. They have also considered their capital expenditure commitments in the context of the increased level of available facilities as well as their obligations to other stakeholders; in particular, their pension fund liabilities are not material. Together with the earnings uplift seen in 2019, they have therefore been able to propose another increase of 10% in the final dividend per share, taking it to 51.45p. This will be paid in June 2020 with 34.45p to be paid as a PID and the balance of 17.00p as a conventional dividend. They will again be offering a scrip dividend alternative for those shareholders who wish to receive shares rather than cash.
Other financial highlights include:
Total return of 6.6%, up from 5.3% in 2018
EPRA NAV 3,958p per share, up 4.8% from 3,776p in December 2018
Net rental income of £178.0m, up 10.5% from £161.1m in 2018
EPRA and underlying earnings of £115.1m, or 103.1p per share:
o underlying earnings per share up 4.0% from 99.1p in 2018
o EPRA earnings per share of 113.1p in 2018 included non-recurring receipt of 14.0p
Four refinancings including £450m revolving credit facility ('RCF')
Net debt increased to £981.6m from £956.9m in December 2018
Interest cover 462%, loan-to-value ratio 16.9%
Undrawn facilities and cash of £511m, up from £274m in December 2018
