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Johannesburg – Octodec increased its revenue to R537m for the year ended August 2014 from R506bn in the same period last year.
The Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) group said the full year results indicated its ability to maintain strong earnings growth despite a mute trading climate.
The increase in revenue was mainly due to contractual escalations, improved letting and an increase in the recovery of utility and assessment rate charges.
“We're very pleased with these results”, Octodec managing director Jeffrey Wapnick told Fin24 in a video interview.
Octodec declared an 11.5% rise in dividends to 175.7 cents per share for the year.
It posted a 9.2% jump in operating profit to R247m in 2014 from R226m in 2013 and profit before taxation increased to R378m from R211m.
Basic and fully diluted earnings per share increased to 336.4 cents in 2014 from 354.3 cents in the previous year.
Wapnick pointed out that these results relate to Octodec shareholding immediately prior to the merger between Octodec and Premium on September 1.
"Our results for Octodec for those existing shareholders were a distribution up 11.5%," he said.
"We're very pleased with these results and confident that the foundation for the new merged entity has been well laid by the current existing assets of Octodec."
Wapnick said to him the most exciting part of the merger is the new balance sheet.
"A lot of the projects are now off the drawing board and into the ground."
One of these projects is Old Mutual's 162 residential new build with a large retail below. Wapnick said this is located on 1 Mutual Street approximately 100m from Church Street in Pretoria.
"The second and equally as exciting project is our new centre forum development which is a 400 unit development unit with 6000m below plus 300 parking bays," said Wapnick.
"What makes this exciting for me is that it constitutes true urban redevelopment and will cater to the new Tshwane towers located across the road from this development."
Wapnick said these two developments are an indication in the group's belief in both the Johannesburg and Pretoria CBD.
Watch the full interview
- Fin24
