Interview: Italy's IGD Siiq aims at paying higher dividends in 2018
23/03/2018 15:56
By Elisa Anzolin
MILAN, March 23 (Reuters) - Italy's IGD Siiq IGD.MI aims
to increase its dividends again this year after already raising
by 11 percent what it paid to shareholders over last year's
results, the real estate group's chief executive said on Friday.
"We intend to maintain at least the same dividend level,
which is already very high, but our commitment is to increase it
also next year and in the following ones," Claudio Albertini
told Reuters in an interview.
The first real estate investment trust (REIT) that was set
up in Italy back in 2008 makes profits from renting spaces to
retailers inside supermarkets, shopping malls and retail parks
that make up the bulk of its 2.228 billion euros ($2.75 billion)
portfolio.
The 2017 dividend will be paid once the group completes a
cash call of up to 150 million euros to partially fund the
acquisition of four shopping galleries and a retail park in
Italy.
IGD's main shareholder Coop Alleanza has already committed
to buy into the capital increase. Albertini said he was
confident that the other investor, UniCoop Tirreno, would also
subscribe the cash call proportionally to its stake.
IGD's boss also said he saw room for recovery in the
company's stock price, which lost around one third of its market
value since the capital increase was announced on Dec 15.
($1 = 0.8105 euros)
(Writing by Maria Pia Quaglia, editing by Francesca Landini)
((mailto:mariapia.quaglia@tr.com; + 39 02 66129638; Reuters
Messaging:
rm://mariapia.quaglia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))