Has leapfrogged by 352% in profit before tax
KEABETSWE NEWEL
The board of PrimeTime Property Holdings Limited announced to its shareholders that it has acquired a commercial property at Erf1618, 300 Bryanston Drive, Bryanston, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, commonly known as Riverside Junction through its subsidiary PrimeTime Property Holdings (Mauritius) Limited.
The acquired property is a 4,842 square metre plot, with a built-up area of 3,341 square metres comprising Grade A offices, retail and restaurant space and two levels of basement parking.
The sum of R84.7 million (P60.8 million) was spent on the property, according to the board. This will reflect a 9 percent net return on the investment. The PrimeTime board said the purchase has been funded through the release of equity secured against properties held within the group’s portfolio. The property was independently valued at R84.4 million (P60.6 million).
The property is in a commanding position at the intersection of Bryanston Drive and St James Crescent and operates as an ongoing rental enterprise. The building was completed in August 2016 and is fully occupied by a strong tenant base. Tenants in the building include Jackson’s Real Food Market, Tiger’s Milk and EQ-FIN, an affiliate of Liberty. The property was acquired from Erf 1618 Bryanston (Pty) Ltd, (Registration No.2007/010053/07), a company registered in the Republic of South Africa.
“This acquisition is part of the execution of PrimeTime’s strategy to create long-term value for linked unitholders while mitigating risk by diversifying the group’s investments on both a geographic and sectoral basis,” the board announced. The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) listed property firm performed well in 2018 full year ending 31August 2018 after it recorded a significant 352 percent increase in profit before tax (PBT)
Under the stewardship of Managing Director (MD) Sandy Kelly, PrimeTime pre-tax profit leapfrogged to P147 million from a mere P32 million seen during the previous corresponding period. The group’s bottom line then improved quite significantly, with a 352 percent increase in profit before tax, 36 percent of which comprises only trading profits. Reasons behind the significant climb in the PBT included a reduction in vacancies on a like to like basis for pre-existing properties, as well as a full 12-month top line contribution from the group’s largest asset by value, Centro Kabulonga in Lusaka, Zambia as opposed to the previous year’s 8-month contribution, to mention a few.
The property company, whose main sector interests are retail and office, recently added three more developments to the portfolio, one in Botswana and two in Zambia. The new additions more than offset the property they disposed of during the year, which in turn brought up the total value of their portfolio (including the properties that are still a work in progress) to P1.43billion from P1.24billion in 2017.
Its recent acquisition is expected to further boost the portfolio value.