Property group to lower dividend payout

specified but Stockland said it would begin looking for a replacement from a field of internal and external candidates.

Chairman Tom Pockett said there would be a flexible transition to ensure a handover and strong leadership during the pandemic.

Earlier yesterday, Stockland estimated a second-half distribution of 10.6 cents per share would be paid.

The property group had previously forecast the payment to be 14.1 cents per share, but scrapped the figure in March as the economic impact of the virus took hold.

The reduction in distribution is reflective of the impact of COVID-19 on the business during the last quarter of the financial year and the timing of the expected recovery in cashflow, it said.

“Reducing the distribution and retaining this capital will protect our balance sheet and positions us well to navigate the recovery phase,” Stockland added.

It also flagged a considerable hit to commercial property values. According to draft revaluations as of June 18, book value of its entire commercial property portfolio has dropped 6.0 per cent.

This includes a slide in the value of retail properties by 10.0 per cent.

Almost 95 per cent of stores at its shopping centres have now resumed trading, it said.

The company will undertake an independent external valuation of the entire portfolio as at June 30. Stockland said COVID-19 caused much volatility in the industry and these values could change.

Meanwhile, government stimulus for the property market such as the Homebuilder program, which gives grants to owner-occupiers, was helping its home sales.

Stockland said since midMay there had been more inquiries about its residential properties than before the virus crisis.