Londonmetric hikes dividend after swinging to FY profit

Real estate investment trust Londonmetric hiked its final dividend on Thursday after swinging to a full-year profit on the back of higher annual rental income.

In the twelve months ended 31 March, Londonmetric said pre-tax profits were £257.3m, a marked turnaround when compared to the prior year's loss of £5.7m, driven by an 8% increase in full-year rental income to £119.7m.

Londonmetric's portfolio delivered a solid total property return of 13.4% over the trading year, with the group noting it had outperformed the IPD All Property index, which delivered just 1.2%.

Occupancy was said to have remained high at 98.7%, while rent collections during the period saw 98.1% of rent demanded in the year collected.

On the back of the group's strong full-year performance, Londonmetric declared a fourth-quarter dividend of 2.35p per share, resulting in a 4% year-on-year increase in its total dividend to 8.65p.

Londonmetric also hiked its first-quarter 2022 dividend to 2.2p, up 4.8% from the prior year.

Chief executive Andrew Jones said: "Whilst we have all experienced a truly unprecedented last 12 months, in many ways Covid-19 has merely accelerated longer-term trends that were already being driven by technological advancement and changing consumer behaviour.

"Our strong shareholder alignment, disciplined approach and focus on quality assets that deliver a reliable, repetitive and growing income has positioned us well for the future as we progress towards our ambition of becoming a dividend aristocrat. After all, income compounding is the bedrock for attractive returns."

As of 0840 BST, Londonmetric shares were up 1.67% at 232.0p.