Malita Investments plc - Full-Year Results
On 26 February 2015, Malita Investments plc published its preliminary statement of financial results for the year ended 31 December 2014.
Performance Overview
During 2014, in line with the previous year, Malita Investments generated €6.75 million in revenue from the leases over the sites of Malta International Airport (MIA) and Valletta Cruise Port (VCP) coupled with the income arising from the contractual agreements in connection with the Parliament Building and Open-Air Theatre (collectively referred to as the City Gate Project). In the announcement, the Directors explained that works on the Parliament Building progressed further and are now in their final stages of completion.
Meanwhile, the Company registered a 2.6% increase in administrative expenses to €0.36 million. The financial statements also accounted for an uplift in the fair value of investment property of €15.7 million (2013: €15.69 million). The investment properties are the sites of MIA and VCP. The improvement in the fair value reflects the higher present value attributable to the cash flows receivable by the Company in relation to these sites following the steep decline in interest rates on Malta Government Stocks which is used as the benchmark.
As a result, the Company registered an operating profit of €22.1 million compared to €11.1 million in 2013. After accounting for net finance costs of €1.22 million (2013: €1 million), the Company’s pre-tax profit amounted to €20.86 million compared to the 2013 pre-tax profit figure of €10 million. During the year under review, the Company incurred a tax charge of €7.1 million leading to a net profit for 2014 of €13.7 million, up by 71% from the previous year’s comparable figure.
The Company’s total assets increased by 5.1% over 2013 to €142.8 million as the increase in the value of investment property offset the decline in the Company’s current assets. Meanwhile, total liabilities dropped by 11.3% to €47.7 million. As a result, total equity increased by 15.9% to €95.1 million reflecting the profit registered during the period under review. The net asset value per share as at 31 December 2014 is of €0.642 (2013: €0.554).
The Directors noted that the results were in line with projections made at the time of the July 2012 IPO with the exception of the fair value movement on investment property given the change in Malta Government Stock yields which are used as a benchmark to discount future cash flows receivable.
Dividend
The Directors recommended the payment of a final gross dividend of €0.021 per share (net: €0.01365) to all shareholders (both ‘A’ and ‘B’) as at the close of trading on Wednesday 18 March. The final dividend will be paid on Friday 24 April subject to shareholders approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting scheduled to be held on Wednesday 22 April.
Combined with the interim gross dividend of €0.015 per share (net: €0.00975), the Company’s total gross dividend for 2014 amounts to €0.036 (net: €0.0234) per share representing a rise of 3.2% over the dividend distribution in respect of the 2013 financial year. The 2014 dividend results in a gross dividend yield of 7.2% (net: 4.7%) on the IPO price of €0.50 in line with the dividend policy laid out in the July 2012 Prospectus and a gross dividend yield of 4.7% (net: 3%) on the current share price.