Workspace ramps up full year profit

11th Jun 2013 07:09

FTSE 250 office provider Workspace revealed a sharp increase in annual pre-tax profit and said it is ideally positioned to take advantage of the strength of the London economy.Pre-tax profit surged 58% to £76.4m for the year ended March 31st while EPRA net asset value per share increased by 13% to £3.48. Like-for-like (LFL) rent roll increased 9% in year to £45.5m and total rent roll climbed to £52.7m from £50.2m in March 2012.Trading profit after interest advanced 12% to £17.9m.Chief Executive Jamie Hopkins commented: "This strong set of results reflects our strategy of owning the right properties, which we intensively manage to drive occupancy and rent, while growing the capital value of our portfolio through an energetic programme of repositioning, refurbishing and redevelopment." A total dividend of 9.67p per share has been recommended, up 10%, as well as a final dividend of 6.45p compared to 5.86p in 2012.CJ