Vividend payout up 10%

VIVIDEND Income Fund returned sparkling growth in its unaudited results for the six months ended February. The company saw a 10% distribution growth to 27c per linked unit.

VIVIDEND Income Fund, a property loan stock company listed on the JSE, returned sparkling growth in its unaudited results for the six months ended February.

The company said on Friday that it saw a 10% distribution growth to 27c per linked unit. This was an annualised income yield jump of 9.5%.

In the period under review, its property portfolio trebled to R1.54bn, and revenue increased by 158% to reach R94m. The acquisition pipeline was R483m, while it planned redevelopments worth R30m.

Vividend had a 94.5% occupancy rate.

The increase in revenue was because of growth in the property portfolio and contractual rental escalations. Earnings from properties acquired were in line with expectations, both at the date of transfer and for the sixmonth period.

Finance costs rose to R18.2m from zero in February last year. This was due to bank facilities the company secured to facilitate the growth in its property portfolio.

The loan to value ratio of 34.43% resulted in a net asset value per linked unit, excluding deferred taxation liability, rise of 3% to 511c. Vividend had a market capitalisation of about R1bn at the end of February, and a portfolio of 21 directly-owned properties valued at about R1.5bn.

The company said its primary objective was to identify value and value-enhancing opportunities within targeted sectors of the South African property market.

To do this, it would use defined investment strategies that aimed to create a diverse and stable portfolio of assets. The strategies would further enable Vividend to generate secure, consistent and continually escalating free cash flows.

Linked unitholders were entitled, through the debenture portion of their linked units, to the after-taxation profits of the company, excluding capital profits and losses, and after adjusting for all non-cash items.