Segro losses swell

27th Aug 2009 12:01

Property group Segro gave back some of its recent gains today after revealing interim losses grew to almost half a billion pounds.The firm recorded a pre-tax loss of £493.3m for the six months ended 30 June, more than last year's £315.3m deficit. Property losses hit £514m after a valuation deficit of £492m.Net asset value per share was down 23% on a pro forma basis to 353p from 459p at the end of 2008, adjusting for the effects of the rights issue.But Segro did enjoy a 9% increase in net rental income to £129.7m thanks to newly let developments and an increase in underlying like-for-like rental income of 3.1%.Chief executive Ian Coull thinks conditions will remain challenging for the rest of the year, but expects a 'satisfactory' operating performance.He also sees early signs that the investment market may be close to bottoming out.Last month, the firm raised £250m from a placing and open offer to fund its acquisition of rival Brixton.There's an interim dividend of 4.6p a share, made up of property income distribution of 1.5p and a regular dividend of 3.1p.