Unite Group (UTG)

Sector:

Property Investment Trusts

Index:

FTSE 100

970.00p
   
  • Change Today:
      5.00p
  • 52 Week High: 1,057.00
  • 52 Week Low: 847.00
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 435.86m
  • Volume: 104,974
  • Market Cap: £4,227.84m
  • RiskGrade: 154

Unite Group swings back to profit in first half

By Josh White

Date: Tuesday 27 Jul 2021

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Student accommodation company Unite Group reported an 18% improvement in EPRA earnings in its first half on Tuesday, to £88.3m, as EPRA earnings per share improved 8% to 22.2p.
The FTSE 250 company said its EPRA profit for the six months ended 30 June included £15.7m from partial recognition of the performance fee for the LSAV joint venture in London.

Rent collection stood at 96% for the 2020-2021 academic year, as the board confirmed guidance for EPRA earnings per share of 27p to 30p for the full year, compared to 25.5p a year earlier, excluding the LSAV performance fee.

It declared an interim dividend of 6.5p, up from nil a year earlier, and was targeting at least 65% payout of EPRA earnings per share, excluding the LSAV performance fee for the full year.

On a statutory basis, profit before tax totalled £130.4m, swinging from a loss of £73.9m in the first half of last year, which the company said was driven by EPRA earnings and a valuation gain of £54.3m in the period.

Its total accounting return for the first half was 3.9% , compared to -2.3% a year earlier.

"The business has once again shown its resilience in the first half and is now positioned for growth. Recognising the challenges faced by students, we have provided financial support during the pandemic totalling over £100m," said chief executive officer Richard Smith.

"We are confident that record university applications for 2021-22 will translate into strong demand for our accommodation.

"Our recent sales performance has been strong, supported by the removal of restrictions on in-person teaching."

Smith said that, while there remained some uncertainty over travel restrictions for international students, the company has "minimal exposure" to students due to arrive from red list countries and had offered students arriving from amber list countries, including China, the opportunity to arrive at their accommodation up to three weeks early to self-isolate at no extra cost.

Assuming no fundamental change to travel restrictions, he added that United was "well-positioned", expecting 95% to 98% occupancy and 2% to 3% rental growth in 2021-2022.

"Despite the backdrop of Covid-19, and uncertainty created by the anticipated review of higher education funding, we remain confident in our ability to deliver significant earnings growth and attractive total returns over the medium to long term."

At 0931 BST, shares in the Unite Group were down 0.82% at 1,132p.

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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.

 

Unite Group Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 970.00p
Change Today 5.00p
% Change 0.52 %
52 Week High 1,057.00
52 Week Low 847.00
Volume 104,974
Shares Issued 435.86m
Market Cap £4,227.84m
RiskGrade 154

Unite Group Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
91.91% below the market average91.91% below the market average91.91% below the market average91.91% below the market average91.91% below the market average
92.31% below the sector average92.31% below the sector average92.31% below the sector average92.31% below the sector average92.31% below the sector average
Price Trend
36.46% above the market average36.46% above the market average36.46% above the market average36.46% above the market average36.46% above the market average
40.00% above the sector average40.00% above the sector average40.00% above the sector average40.00% above the sector average40.00% above the sector average
Income
0.76% below the market average0.76% below the market average0.76% below the market average0.76% below the market average0.76% below the market average
84% below the sector average84% below the sector average84% below the sector average84% below the sector average84% below the sector average
Growth
72.06% below the market average72.06% below the market average72.06% below the market average72.06% below the market average72.06% below the market average
35.71% below the sector average35.71% below the sector average35.71% below the sector average35.71% below the sector average35.71% below the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 3
Buy 5
Neutral 3
Sell 0
Strong Sell 0
Total 11
buy
Broker recommendations should not be taken as investment advice, and are provided by the authorised brokers listed on this page.

Unite Group Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Final Interim
Ex-Div 18-Apr-24 14-Sep-23
Paid 24-May-24 27-Oct-23
Amount 23.60p 11.80p

Trades for 28-Mar-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
13:33 137 @ 970.00p
13:33 293 @ 970.50p
13:33 154 @ 970.50p
13:33 20 @ 970.50p
13:33 313 @ 970.50p

Unite Group Key Personnel

CEO Joe Lister
Chair Richard N L Huntingford
CFO Michael Burt

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