French office landlord Foncières des Regions reported rental income rose 3.8% on a like-for-like basis to EUR 309 mln in the first half of 2009. Including disposals, the figure was 3.2% lower year-on-year.

French office landlord Foncières des Regions reported rental income rose 3.8% on a like-for-like basis to EUR 309 mln in the first half of 2009. Including disposals, the figure was 3.2% lower year-on-year.

Recurrent net profit was up 8.1% at EUR 151.8 mln compared to EUR 140.3 mln in the year-earlier period. The increase is based on like-for-like rental income growth, an improvement in the operating margin (80.2% vs. 78.7% in H1 08) and lower financial expenses thanks to the reduced average cost of debt (4.49% vs. 4.88% for the full-year 2008). Net asset value fell 8% to EUR 78.9 per share.

The value of the portfolio fell 4% to on a like-for-like basis in the first half of 2009. Over the period, Foncière des Régions sold EUR 87.5 mln of office assets.