GROWTHPOINT EXPECTS A 15% DROP IN ITS INCOME

GROWTHPOINT Properties, the biggest property investment company on the JSE, said yesterday that it expected its distribution per share and distributable income per share to fall by 15 percent in its 2020 financial year compared with 2019. This was due to the impact of the Covid-19 global pandemic, rental relief provided to tenants, rental arrears and the uncertainty of the future impact of the crisis, a trading statement said. Liquidity and balance sheet management remained a focus to preserve the company’s financial strength. The policy of paying out 100 percent of distributable income per share was being reconsidered, and a final decision would be made at a board meeting on September 8, prior to the release of annual results a day later. Growthpoint also said that it had become the overall winner of the Investment Analysts Society of South Africa (IAS) Excellence in Financial Reporting and Communications Awards 2019. The group, with properties in Africa, Europe, UK and Australia, was also voted as the leader in communication and financial reporting in the property sector category. Growthpoint has been acknowledged for its good disclosure and quality market intelligence by the IAS every year since 2011 and has been overall winner of these awards three times. Norbert Sasse, chief executive of Growthpoint, said the awards underscored Growthpoint’s commitment to providing accurate, meaningful and timely information to the market.

| and Bloomberg