- HY net profit after tax fell to $442.9 million - 55.5 per cent decrease
- Occupancy by income high at 96 per cent for offices
- Rent collection was also high at 96 per cent
The statutory net profit after tax for the half-yearly period ending 31 Dec 2020 was $442.9 million – a 55.5 per cent decrease compared to the same period ending on 31 December 2019 which was $994.2 million.
The fall in profit, the company says, was caused by an independent revaluation of 111 of its 122 offices and industrial properties.
Notably, however, was the valuation of their industrial properties which increased by 4.8 per cent – surprising, given COVID.
Dexus manages $22.5 billion group office portfolio with $13.8 billion sitting in the Dexus portfolio itself.
During the period 93,691 metres was leased by Dexus across 135 transactions.
Kevin George, Executive General Manager for Dexus’s Office portfolio, is pleased with the results given the Covid-related lockdowns.
“In an environment where global economies are still in lockdown, we are seeing activity levels increasing in Australian cities with people returning to CBDs and our buildings,” he says
“The commentary on working from home versus the office continues, but the impact on both near term and longer-term leasing demand is still not clear. Increased flexibility for employees was a pre-pandemic trend that has now accelerated.
“We’ve however had a busy six-month period of leasing and our experience across those deals completed shows the office footprint is substantially unchanged.”
Occupancy is high for the company; by the income, it is 96 per cent for office buildings and 95.5 per cent for industrial buildings, although it should be added this doesn’t necessarily equate to physical occupancy.
Rent collection also remained strong with a health 96 per cent of their portfolio paying their dues on time.
A distribution of 28.8 cents per security to shareholders was announced by the company.
After the annoucnements of the results, the share price fell by 3.6 per cent to $8.42.
Management said cash collection was a focus during the corresponding period along with providing stability to their small-to-medium-sized clients.
The company has undrawn debt facilities and a $1.7 billion balance sheet.
The development pipeline for the group now stands at $11.4 billion with $5.8 billion of this sitting with the Dexus portfolio itself and the remaining $5.6 billion within third-party funds.
