4 Aug 2009

Loss reported by property investor

7:26 pm on 4 August 2009

Industrial property investor Property For Industry has made a half-year loss, partly due to a drop in the value of its properties and a small drop in revenue.

Property For Industry made a loss of $15.7 million to June, compared with a profit of $5.8 million in the same period last year.

Over the six months, the value of its property portfolio fell 5.6%, by $21 million, to $349 million. Revenue decreased from $15.8 million from $16.5 million.

But the distributable profit remained relatively steady, down 1.6% to $7.9 million compared with the first half of 2008.

The listed property investor says the sale of four properties resulted in lower rental returns, but that was partly offset by new rentals from development projects and an average 7.5% rent increase for 11 properties.

The company also secured eight new leases.

But Property For Industry is cautious about the following six months, saying its tenants are experiencing challenging trading conditions.

The company says the time it takes to find new tenants for space that has recently become vacant will have a bearing on its performance for the rest of the year.