LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Self-storage group Big Yellow said on Thursday that total revenues had increased in the three months ended 30 June on the back of strong average rate growth.
Big Yellow said Q1 store revenue was up 3% at £51.1m, while total revenues also rose 3%, to £51.5m, with average net rents growing 5% to £35.67 per square foot.

Big Yellow said occupancy across all 109 stores increased by 47,000 square feet compared to a gain of 220,000 square feet in the same quarter a year earlier, while closing occupancy rose by 0.7ppts to 79.4% quarter-on-quarter but ws down 2.4ppts year-on-year.

Chief executive Jim Gibson said: "As stated in our May results, we saw some softening of demand and loss of occupancy at the start of the quarter due to elevated levels of macroeconomic uncertainty. Despite this we have delivered strong average rate growth of 5% through our yield management processes, which has resulted in 3% revenue growth for the quarter compared to last year.

"We saw some improvement in demand through the quarter, which has continued into July, with improved year-on-year occupancy performance. Our customer base remains stable with move-outs lower than last year."

As of 0845 BST, Big Yellow shares were up 2.41% at 933.0p.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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