Plaza Centres plc - Interim Results

On 31 July Plaza Centres plc issued its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2012.

Plaza generated record revenue of €1.12 million representing a 4.9% increase when compared to the €1.07 million in the first six months of 2011. The increase in revenue can be attributed to a full-month contribution from the increased rentable area following the third extension which was inaugurated in March 2011. Despite a 1,700 sqm increase in rentable area, Plaza managed to maintain the same occupancy rate at 91% as a large part of the increased area was successfully rented out. However, in the Interim Directors’ Statement published in May 2012, Plaza had indicated that occupancy levels may drop at the end of August 2012 due to the termination of a lease of an office tenant occupying a large area. The company re-iterated that it is currently negotiating new lease contracts for this area.

During the first half of 2012, Plaza reported a 10.5% drop in marketing, maintenance and administrative costs to €0.176 million (H1 2011: €0.196 million) which helped earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grow by 8.4% to €0.947 million. After accounting for a depreciation charge of €0.187 million, Plaza reported an operating profit of €0.76 million (H1 2011: €0.696 million).  The reduction in costs and higher revenue figures led to an improved cost to income ratio of 32.3% compared to 34.9% in H1 2011.

Net finance costs increased to €75,099 giving a record profit before tax of €0.685 million, 9.6% higher than last year. The profit for the period after tax was also at a record level of €0.423 million giving earnings per share of 1c5 based on 28,242,000 shares in issue following the re-nominalisation and subsequent share split in May 2012.

The balance sheet as at 30 June 2012 shows total assets of €28.2 million with shareholders’ funds of €20.1 million. The net asset value per share based on the increased share capital is of €0.711. The annualized pre-tax return of equity is also at a record of 6.85%.

Similar to previous years, the Board of Directors did not recommend the payment of an interim dividend. In the Half Year Report, Plaza’s Directors indicated that they do not anticipate a significant change in the company’s performance in the next 6 months, although they remain attentive to external market factors. Plaza also confirmed that in line with its plans for further growth, it will continue to look at new opportunities for expansion.