Quake deals Kiwi Income Property a $52.1 mln hit

Quake deals Kiwi Income Property a $52.1 mln hit

by Pattrick Smellie

March 31 (BusinessDesk) – Kiwi Income Property Trust, the country’s biggest listed property entity, has taken a $52.1 million hit on the Christchurch earthquake as it writes down the value of its property portfolio by 4%.

The property investor’s Northland Shopping Centre and PricewaterhouseCoopers Centre in Christchurch make up the bulk of the $81.9 million write-down to $1.98 billion in the year ended March 31, after last month’s quake killed more than 180 people and caused as much as $15 billion of damage around New Zealand’s second-biggest city.

Stripping out the Christchurch effect, the value of KIP’s investment portfolio shrank 1.5% to $1.66 billion from a year earlier, and its other properties either under development or adjoining fell 4.3% to $86.5 million.

“The reduction in portfolio value over the past year is largely attributable to the impact of the February 2011 earthquake on our two Christchurch assets,” Sean Wareing, chairman of the trust’s manager, said in a statement.

“Underlying operating earnings remain sound and this movement in portfolio value will not adversely affect distributions to unit holders.”

In December, the property investor bolstered its retail investment buying Auckland’s LynMall Shopping Centre from AMP Capital Property for $174 million.

Excluding the Christchurch mall, the value of KIP’s retail portfolio rose 0.6% to $1.05 billion, with Sylvia Park Shopping Centre leading the gains. KIP’s shares fell 1.5% to $1 in trading today, and have gained 1.5% this year.

(BusinessDesk) 17:17:13

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