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- Convenience retail firm Waypoint (WPR) has seen statutory net profit rise 83.9 per cent to $251.9 million in 1H 21, compared with $137.0 million in 1H20
- In the first half of the year, 37 non-core asset transactions have settled or exchanged for a total of $132 million, reflecting a premium of 10.8 per cent
- The portfolio’s weighted average lease expiry was 10.5 years with only two fuel leases expiring before FY26
- The interim distribution for the six months ending 30 June 2021 is 7.81 cents per security
- Shares in WPR are up 1.11 per cent to $2.73 at 11:23 am AEST.
Convenience retail firm Waypoint (WPR) has seen statutory net profit rise 83.9 per cent to $251.9 million in 1H21, compared with $137.0 million in 1H20, thanks in part to 37 non-core asset sales.
In the first half of the year, 37 non-core asset transactions settled or exchanged for a total of $132 million, reflecting a premium of 10.8 per cent over WPR’s current carrying value.
The weighted average capitalisation rate of Waypoint’s portfolio tightened 19 basis points to 5.37 per cent as a result of a gross value increase of $189.8 million for the six-month period.
The portfolio’s weighted average lease expiry was 10.5 years, with only two fuel leases expiring before FY26 and two non-fuel tenancies currently vacant. A further 10 non-fuel leases expire before FY26.
Distributable earnings of $61.3 million were up 6.1 per cent from the same period last year with 7.81 cents in distributable earnings per security, up 5.4 per cent.
Net tangible assets per security were $2.75 in June 2021, up 10.4 per cent from December 2020.
WPR refinanced $100 million of debt throughout the period, with a weighted average debt maturity of 4.1 years as of June 30 2021 while gearing was 27.3 per cent as of June 2021, below WPR’s desired range of 30-40 per cent.
WPR CEO Hadyn Stephens said the increase in distributable earnings per security was underpinned by contracted rental escalations and a 10.4 per cent increase in tangible assets per security driven by $189.8 million of gross valuation uplift across the portfolio.
“WPR has also capitalised on strong market conditions to improve the overall quality of WPR’s portfolio, achieving a 10.8% premium to prevailing carrying value on 37 non-core asset sales to date,” he said.
“WPR is committed to returning capital in excess of current requirements to securityholders whilst maintaining a strong financial position for selective acquisition and reinvestment opportunities that may arise in the future.”
The interim distribution for the six months ending 30 June 2021 is 7.81 cents per security, according to VER Limited, the responsible company of Waypoint REIT Trust.
WPR’s FY21 Distributable EPS projection remains unchanged at 15.72 cps, representing a 3.75 per cent increase over FY20.
“The balance of FY21 will be focused on continuing to actively manage WPR’s portfolio and optimise its capital structure, including progressing the proposed capital management iniatives announced on 30 July 2021 as well as a potential inaugural Australian Medium-Term Notes (A-MTN) issuance,” he said.
Shares in WPR were up 0.93 per cent to $2.73 at 11:23 am AEST.
