Unite first-half profit and NAV jump on high occupancy

5th Aug 2015 08:41

(ShareCast News) - Unite Group, which develops and manages student accommodation, posted a jump in first-half pre-tax profit, driven by high occupancy, rental growth, operational efficiencies and further growth to its portfolio.Pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 June came in at £227.3m from £44.6m on revenue of £141.8m from £57.9m in the first half of last year.Earnings per share rose to 91.7p from 23.1p in 2014 and the company raised its dividend by 150% to 5.5p per share.EPRA earnings rose 45% to £29.6n, while net asset value per share was up 20% to 521p.Unite said it was on track to achieve like-for-like rental growth of 3.5% to 4% for the full year, up from 3.3% in 2014.Chief executive Mark Allan said: "Throughout the first half of 2015 we have continued to deliver against our three key strategic priorities: to be the most trusted brand in our sector, to operate the highest quality portfolio and to maintain the strongest capital structure. As a result we are delighted to report another set of strong results."The company said it remains well-placed to deliver sustainable growth in the coming years. It said market conditions are supportive of rising demand, rents and capital values, while its development pipeline and expertise will allow it to add materially to both recurring earnings and net asset value.Numis said Unite "has delivered another strong set of results", with NAV about 1% of its forecasts and EPS in line.The brokerage reiterated its 'add' rating on the stock and lifted its NAV forecasts for full-year 2015 and 2016 by 3% to 572p and 640p, respectively.At 10:12, Unite shares were up 0.6% at 648.50p.