Augusta Capital increases FY earnings by 5%

Augusta increases FY earnings 5% as funds management offsets rental decline

By Paul McBeth

May 21 (BusinessDesk) - Augusta Capital, the listed property investor and fund manager, increased annual earnings by 5 percent as gains from its funds management business offset a decline in rental income.

Distributable earnings after tax, the preferred measure of property investors which strips out unrealised movements in the value of their portfolios, rose to $4.9 million in the 12 months ended March 31 from $4.6 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Revenue climbed 35 percent to $18.6 million, with management fees contributing $5.3 million, up from $818,000 a year earlier. Property revenue fell to $6.7 million from $8.1 million.

Net profit soared 422 percent to $10.4 million including a $4.4 million unrealised gain in property values and a $1.6 million gain on the sale of property management rights.

Last year, Augusta bought property investors KCL Property and Investment Property Titles for a combined $15.4 million in cash and scrip, giving it about 165 properties to manage, with some $1.1 billion in funds under management.

"Augusta has continued to grow its business through diversification of its income from directly owned property to funds management revenue that is not capital demand," the company said. "Our new scale and funding capacity should allow us to identify quality offers for release and we will continue to apply a disciplined approach to our assessments."

The company expects to continue "the improving trend in earnings," it said.

The board declared a final dividend of 1.25 cents per share, payable on May 15 with a May 8 record date. That takes the annual payout to 4.75 cents, up from 4 cents a year earlier.

The shares last traded at 99 cents, and have increased 2.1 percent this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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