Attacq CEO Morne Wilken
While the six months to December 31 was marred by a tougher global economy, political uncertainty and international market volatility, JSE-listed property group Attacq still managed to grow its local portfolio by 9.6%, with a total asset value of R27.1-billion.
At a briefing to discuss the company’s results in Midrand, on Tuesday, CEO Morné Wilken highlighted that income on the company’s local portfolio increased by 25.9% to R668.5-million, which contributed to the company’s overall positive growth.
However, he noted that the non-South African assets had experienced negative growth of 22%, owing to the strengthening of the rand.
Meanwhile, the company managed to reduce its vacancies from 3.4% to 2.6% in the six months under review, with a normalised expenses-to-income ratio of 15.9%.
Attacq further reported that it achieved a compound annual growth rate of 27.7% for net asset value per share (NAVPS), adjusted for deferred tax. Its NAVPS grew by 14.4% to R21.35 in the three years to December 31.
WATERFALL IS THE FUTURE
Citing it as Attacq’s opportunity to own a city, Wilken said its Waterfall development was a catalyst for future growth in the Gauteng region, as it served as an infill development, centrally located between Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Now in its second wave of development, beyond the Mall of Africa and Waterfall Park, four more buildings were completed in Waterfall in the last six months including the Allandale, Dimension Data, Torre Industries and Amrod buildings.
These buildings increased the total directly held in Waterfall’s attributable primary gross leasable area by 70 424 m2.
“Our crown jewel, Mall of Africa, performed above expectation in the eight months of trading to December 31. It generated an exceptional monthly average trading density of R2 777/m² and achieved more than 1.1-million visitors a month since opening on April 28, 2016.
“The mall’s average gross rental per square metre is about 16% below other comparable super-regional malls. This positions Mall of Africa well for future value growth,” said Wilken.