15 May 2009

Property trust reports $169m loss

12:03 pm on 15 May 2009

Kiwi Income Property Trust made a loss of $169 million in the year to March.

The shopping centre and office building investor made a profit of $123 million the previous year. The loss is due to a sharp drop in the value of its properties.

Kiwi Income says its underlying or distributable profit was $61 million, down 1.8% on last year. It will pay investors a dividend of 8 cents per unit.

The trust has raised $100 million in capital and through asset sales, to strengthen its balance sheet. Chief executive Chris Gudgeon says this positions it strongly to cope with any further property devaluations.