- Acquisition of Rail Park Mall has boosted profit
- Performance of Letlole share price “pleasing”
GAZETTE REPORTER
For the full year that ended 30 June 2022, has seen its revenue increased by 5 percent year-on-year to close at P108 million from the prior year’s figure of P103 million.
“This growth was on the back of average annual lease escalations of 6.7 percent, supported by extremely low vacancy rates of less than 1 percent,” says LLR CEO, Kamogelo Mowaneng, in the company financial results for the period under review.
“There was a significant improvement in collection rates which exceeded 100 percent of the total monthly rentals billed, resulting in the credit loss allowances during the year being 35 percent lower than the prior year figure of P3 million.”
Letlole is a real estate development and management company that owns and operates commercial and industrial properties.
Mowaneng notes that the improved rental collections and cash management led to higher cash reserves which were invested in various fixed deposits and money market instruments, hence the significant growth in finance income.
She says the acquisition of Rail Park Mall has substantially boosted the share of profit from associates as the investment, which was acquired for P152 million in December 2021, showed a 13 percent growth in value to close at P171 million by year end.
“The acquisition was fully financed through a long-term loan facility, hence the 41% increase in finance costs from P15 million in the prior year to P21 million,” she notes.
Mowaneng says the improved trading conditions experienced at LLR during the year, coupled with lower vacancy rates, have seen the fair value gains of the investment property increasing significantly from P8 million in the prior year to P25 million for the year ended 30 June 2022.
This contributed to the growth in the value investment portfolio which now stands at P1.2 billion.
She describes the share price performance of LLR during the 2022 financial year as pleasing. “Having opened the financial year at P2.32 per share, it appreciated by 29 percent to close at P3.00 per share,” she says.
“The company has historically traded at a discount to net asset value but is now trading at net asset value. Net asset value as at 30 June 2022 amounted to P846 million, a growth of 8 percent from the prior year’s value of P788 million.”