Property investment group Warner Estate Hldgs Plc (LON:WNER) has reported a 50% fall in adjusted operating profit on the back of lower rental income in the year to March 31. Revenue dropped to £32.8m from £42.5m, reflecting lower rental income following completion of a £131.9m asset disposal programme at the beginning of the year. Recurring operating profit before net movements on investments was £11.3m, down from £22.5m in 2009. Loss before tax was £9.7m against the previous £297.1m. No dividend was proposed.
Chairman Philip Warner said the year had been dominated by refinancing discussions with the group's three lenders, concluded in March 2010. "The resulting facilities provide the group with a stable platform upon which to rebuild value in our property investments, funds and joint ventures and to expand our asset management business," he said.
Warner said property values had been improving since last July but not enough to reverse in full the earlier decline in the group's property values. Net asset value fell from 8p per share to a negative 7p, masking a 'considerable improvement' from the negative 43p reported at the half-year. Looking ahead, the company said the market had risen further since the year end, which, together with 6p per share from the sale in May of its Radial Distribution joint venture, "brings the prospect of a return to positive value that much closer", it said.
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