Primary Health Properties (PHP)

Sector:

Property Investment Trusts

Index:

FTSE 250

94.40p
   
  • Change Today:
      0.20p
  • 52 Week High: 106.30p
  • 52 Week Low: 88.50p
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 1,336.49m
  • Volume: 1,746,108
  • Market Cap: £1,261.65m
  • RiskGrade: 84
  • Beta: 0.89

Primary Health Properties adjusted earnings rise, asset value narrows

By Josh White

Date: Wednesday 24 Jul 2024

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Primary Health Properties reported a 2.9% increase in adjusted earnings per share in its interim results on Wednesday, now at 3.5p, compared to 3.4p for the same period in 2023.
The FTSE 250 company said IFRS earnings per share, however, saw a significant decrease to 0.3p for the six months ended 30 June, from 3p a year earlier.

It put that decrease down to non-cash flow losses related to the valuation of its property portfolio, convertible bond, and interest rate derivatives.

The firm's contracted annualised rent roll grew 1.2% to £152.6m, supported by an additional £1.8m in annualised rental income from rent reviews and asset management projects.

Despite that growth, the portfolio's net initial yield (NIY) widened slightly, resulting in a revaluation deficit of £40m for the period.

Nonetheless, the board said the portfolio remained robust with a 99.2% occupancy rate and 89% of income funded by government bodies.

The company had declared three quarterly dividends totaling 5.175p per share so far this year, equating to an annualised 6.9p per share, making for a 3% increase from 2023.

That marked PHP's 28th consecutive year of dividend growth, reinforcing its strategy of paying a progressive dividend fully covered by adjusted earnings.

PHP's property portfolio was valued at £2.75bn as of 30 June, down slightly from £2.78bn at the end of 2023.

The decline was due to a combination of a £73m decrease from net initial yield widening and gains of £33m from rental growth and asset management projects.

It was planning 23 asset management projects and lease regears over the next two years, which were expected to generate an additional £0.7m in annual rental income.

In terms of financial management, PHP said it maintained significant liquidity headroom with cash and undrawn loan facilities totaling £307.8m.

The group said it was also in advanced discussions to refinance £320m of revolving credit facilities to mitigate refinancing risks for debt maturing in 2025.

As of 30 June, 96% of PHP's net debt was fixed or hedged, with a weighted average period of six years, while the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio stood at 48.0%.

"This is another period of robust operational and financial performance and we are encouraged by the continued improvement in open market value rental growth, together with a strong control on costs resulting in one of the lowest EPRA cost ratios in the REIT sector and with the vast majority of PHP's debt either fixed or hedged for a weighted average period of six years," said chief executive officer Mark Davies.

"It's clear that PHP's competitive advantage is built on these strong fundamentals and leading position in the UK, combined with our large exposure in Ireland.

"As PHP approaches its 30-year anniversary of continuous dividend growth in 2026, the management team appreciates the importance of driving further earnings growth in the future and this continues to be an important focus of the group's business model."

Davies said the company welcomed the new government's commitment to the NHS and, specifically in the first few days of taking power, the Health Secretary's identification of increased investment in primary care.

"As reported in the media, there are commitments to reform GP services and wider community care in order to expand service delivery in these settings, relieving the pressures on the NHS.

"PHP is extremely well placed to facilitate and benefit from these objectives, creating new and modern facilities to deliver services with huge social impact."

At 1004 BST, shares in Primary Health Properties were down 0.91% at 92.65p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Note 2: RiskGrade figures are provided by RiskMetrics.

 

PHP Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 94.40p
Change Today 0.20p
% Change 0.21 %
52 Week High 106.30p
52 Week Low 88.50p
Volume 1,746,108
Shares Issued 1,336.49m
Market Cap £1,261.65m
Beta 0.89
RiskGrade 84

PHP Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
44.28% below the market average44.28% below the market average44.28% below the market average44.28% below the market average44.28% below the market average
39.13% below the sector average39.13% below the sector average39.13% below the sector average39.13% below the sector average39.13% below the sector average
Price Trend
8.45% below the market average8.45% below the market average8.45% below the market average8.45% below the market average8.45% below the market average
44.83% above the sector average44.83% above the sector average44.83% above the sector average44.83% above the sector average44.83% above the sector average
Income
86.18% above the market average86.18% above the market average86.18% above the market average86.18% above the market average86.18% above the market average
100.00% above the sector average100.00% above the sector average100.00% above the sector average100.00% above the sector average100.00% above the sector average
Growth
76.9% below the market average76.9% below the market average76.9% below the market average76.9% below the market average76.9% below the market average
55.56% below the sector average55.56% below the sector average55.56% below the sector average55.56% below the sector average55.56% below the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 4
Buy 1
Neutral 3
Sell 1
Strong Sell 1
Total 10
buy
Broker recommendations should not be taken as investment advice, and are provided by the authorised brokers listed on this page.

PHP Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Q4 Q3
Ex-Div 10-Oct-24 04-Jul-24
Paid 22-Nov-24 16-Aug-24
Amount 1.73p 1.73p

Trades for 06-Dec-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
15:44 2 @ 94.55p
15:44 2 @ 94.55p
15:44 3 @ 94.55p
15:44 5 @ 94.55p
16:47 6,420 @ 94.41p

PHP Key Personnel

CFO Richard Howell
CEO Mark Davies

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