JSE-listed Rebosis Property Fund grew its portfolio by 45.3% to R18.82-billion in the financial year ended August 31.
The growth is attributed to the acquisitions of the Baywest Mall and Forest Hill City shopping centres.
The group’s South African retail portfolio comprises six high-quality, dominant shopping malls with strong anchor national tenants delivering income streams escalating at 6.8%.
The office portfolio comprises 42 buildings in nodes that are attractive to government tenants. These buildings are mainly single-tenanted buildings let to the National Department of Public Works and that provide for average escalations of 8.3%.
“The office portfolio represents a defensive sovereign underpin, shielding the group from private sector risks such as tenant insolvency and default which are material risks in the context of sluggish economic growth and constrained consumer spend,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The group’s industrial property is a single-tenanted industrial warehouse with a lease escalating at an average of 7%.
Rebosis’ net profit increased to R2.64-million in the financial year under review, compared with a profit of R1.87-million in the prior financial year.
The company declared a dividend of 120.4c per ordinary share for the six months to August 31, which, along with the dividend of 120.41c per ordinary share for the six months ended February 28, amounts to a total dividend of 240.82c for the year, an increase of 5% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the company’s borrowings decreased to R10.2-billion as a result of the disposal of a 31.6% shareholding in New Frontier Properties.
During the financial year, Rebosis decreased its stake in New Frontier to 36%, from 67.6%, through a vendor-financed loan to a broad-based black economic empowerment consortium.